SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The messiah men's track and field team began its 2022 outdoor season on Saturday, competing in the Jim Taylor Invitational at Susquehanna University. The Falcons turned in strong performances all day long, including two top-five finishes in the 400m event from
Aedan Wilkinson (4th - 51.81s) and
Derek Heisey (5th - 52.18s), a fifth-place finish in the 100m from
John Steele (16.24s), and three top-ten finishes in the 5000m from
Logan Horst (2nd - 15:01.36),
Andrew Hutchinson (6th - 15:23.43), and
Kyle Costello (8th - 15:27.59).
More on this story to follow …
110m Hurdles
John Steele represented Messiah in the 110m hurdles, earning the last finals qualifying spot with a time of 16.14s in the preliminary round.
Steele performed well later in the afternoon in the finals, placing fifth overall out of six runners with a time 16.24s. Frostburg State's Mark Vaughns came in first place, earning a top time of 14.85s.
400m
Messiah issued a pair of top-five finishes in the 400m as
Aedan Wilkinson and
Derek Heisey placed fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Wilkinson narrowly edged his teammate by nearly a half of a second, crossing the line in 51.81s while Heisey notched a time of 52.18s.
Connor Daudt secured a 14th-place finish with a time of 53.42s while
Cassidy Hoffman earned a time of 55.07.
1,500m
Alex Scheib secured a top-10 finish in the 1,500m, placing ninth overall with a time of 4:06.28.
Josiah Moyer recorded a strong finish as well, crossing the line in 4:08.10 to earn a 12th-place finish as
Josh Bauman also represented the Falcons, placing 29th with a time of 4:16.65.
10,000m
The Falcons had three runners compete in the 10,000m event as
Jonathan Wyrick,
Xander Smith, and
James Sahakian all turned in strong performances. Wyrick placed 17th-overall out of a field of 29 runners, issuing a team-best time of 34:49.81. Smith and Sahakian each contributed impressive times as well, earning respective times of 34:58.16 and 35:28.60.
5,000m
The 5,000m event was an impressive event for the Falcons. Horst turned in a second-place finish with a time of 15:01.36. Out of a strong field of 75 runners, Messiah notched two more top-10 finishes, as Hutchinson (15:23.43) placed sixth and Costello (15:27.59) placed eighth.
Noah Calisti also recorded a strong finish, placing 11th overall with a time of 15:32.91.
3,000m Steeplechase
Both
Ray Truex and
Jackson Hazen represented the Falcons in the 3,000m steeplechase. The event featured a strong field of 19 runners as Truex placed an impressive 11th-overall with a time of 10:37.93. Hazen also issued a strong performance, placing 14th, crossing the line in 11:13.14.
High Jump
Derek Heisey competed well in the high jump, earning himself a sixth-place finish out of a competitive field of 22 jumpers. Heisey reached a top mark of 1.85m as Susquehanna's Bryce Ellinger topped all competition with a mark of 2.00m.
Discus Throw
The Falcons had three representatives in the discus throw event. Hoyt Lechthaler earned a team-best mark of 36.46m on his first attempt, claiming a 13th-place finish out of 41 throwers.
Christian Pilawski and
Matthew Puleo each turned in strong performances as well, earning marks of 34.88m and 27.32m, respectively.
Long Jump
Landon Kerr competed in the long jump for the Falcons, leaping to a top of distance of 5.40m on his second attempt. Kerr competed in a competitive field of 43 jumpers, placing 26th overall.
