CHESTER, PA. - The Messiah Men's Track and Field team had an incredible meet this weekend to open their outdoor season at the Danny Curran Invitational, competing very well amongst an assortment of competition from Division I, Division II, and Division III teams, both in and out of the conference. The two-day meet, hosted by Widener University, always promises especially fast distance performances as well as great performances in every other area, and this weekend did not disappoint. The Men's Track and Field team earned three new top ten entries in their outdoor opener, including one school record, as well as 16 MAC Qualifying marks already in the first meet. The team's performances this weekend serve as an incredible springboard for the rest of the outdoor season and energized the team for the meets to come.
 
On The Track
The track events began with the distance events on Friday night, with the 5000 Meter Run coming first and the 10000 Meter Run also being contested in great weather, with a light rain and mid 50s temperatures accompanying the event. The Falcons performed very well in the 5000 Meter, with Bradley Kreider taking the top honors for the Falcons in a huge personal best and MAC-qualifying time of 15:44.86 that stands as an excellent performance given his continued return from injury and low mileage. Josh Bauman was the second Falcon, finishing with a MAC-qualifying time of 15:53.27 that stands as an almost exact replica of his time at this meet last year despite missing significant time due to injury. Josh Carnwath had an incredible race to set a new personal record by over 30 seconds, smashing his previous personal record of 16:36.62 to cross the line in 16:05.76. Carnwath's race dragged teammate Ryan Klemick to an incredible time as well, with the latter finishing in 16:11.49 with another sizable personal record. Nathan Seibert joined the trio in the same heat with a new personal record time of 16:22.58, with Lance Kauffman finishing close behind in the finishing order from the second heat with a season-best time of 16:33.51. Matthew Rush finished with a personal record time of 17:03.91, coming very close to running sub-17, while Gus Rouland rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a time of 17:09.28 and coming very close to a personal best.
 
One of the highlights on the weekend came in the form of the 10000 Meter Run, with Louka Fetter running as the sole Falcon representative in the event. Fetter not only dispatched his personal best time of 31:08.48 from two years ago before his injury but also snuck past the school record time of 30:38.24, a school record from 1982 that stands as one of the oldest records in the books. Fetter went out with the main pack at a quick pace, passing through halfway in 15:33 before the pace quickened steadily throughout the second 5K until Fetter needed a 64-second 400 meter to break the record. His last lap of 60 seconds was more than enough to do the job, earning him a new school record in a MAC-qualifying time of 30:34.70 as well as a second-place finish in the meet amongst an incredibly strong field and some of the deepest times ever run in the Middle Atlantic Conference in the 10000 Meter Run. Fetter's time continues his journey back from a significant injury that plagued him all of the previous calendar year, with his full return being marked by a new school record in the longest event contested.
 
The Falcons' great performances continued on into the second day, which began with the 1500 Meter Run. John Condon was far and away the top Falcon in the race, finishing in third overall with an excellent MAC-qualifying time of 3:57.34 despite going out very slowly in a first 800 meters of 2:10 and having to close in an incredibly quick time of 2:02.58. Nathan Kimmel also earned himself his first outdoor personal record since freshman year with a MAC-qualifying time of 4:10.45 in the 1500 Meter, closing in a blazing final 400 meters of 60.77 to sneak past his previous personal record in the 1500 Meter of 4:11.85. Zeke Colyer ran his fastest time in nearly two years with a time of 4:17.06 with a quick 65-second close, while Jackson Kay marked his return from injury with a time of 4:21.33.
 
In the 110 Meter Hurdles, John Steele also returned from injury with a time of 16.80, finishing just six hundredths outside of the MAC-qualifying time. Gavin Dunkerton led a trio of multi athletes across the line in the event, finishing just outside of his personal best time of 17.10 with a time of 17.37. Drew Lebo finished close behind with a time of 17.64, while Jed Colyer turned in a time of 19.64 for the Falcons.
 
The 400 Meter Dash featured another highlight of the weekend for the Falcons, with Sean Baxter running a sensational MAC-qualifying time of 50.26 to obliterate his previous outdoor personal best time of 52.44 as well as his indoor personal best time of 51.89 from several weeks ago at indoor MACs. Baxter came through the 200 meter quickly but found another gear in the second half and especially the final 100 meter, surging past his competitors with authority and earning a convincing heat win with an incredible time to boot. Zion Buck also ran a good race after coming straight over from the long jump competition, crossing the line with a time of 52.85, a mark just outside of MAC qualification.
 
Joshua Karyea ran well as the sole Falcon in the 100 Meter Dash, stopping the clock with a time of 11.54 to finish just outside of the MAC-qualifying time of 11.47. 
 
The Falcons had a strong contingent in the 800 Meter Run, with Evan Sarkett leading the charge in a MAC-qualifying time of 1:57.13. Sarkett went out quickly with an opening 400 meters of 56.50 and will look to hold a similar pace throughout the race as the season progresses. Nathan Kimmel ran an excellent race shortly after his 1500 Meter with a time of 2:02.07, exactly tying his season-best from this past indoor season despite having already run a race. Eli McClymont finished closely behind Kimmel in the finishing order, going out very quickly and battling all throughout his race for the heat win. McClymont's efforts awarded him with a personal record of nearly four seconds, knocking his previous best from 2:06.24 all the way down to a new personal best time of 2:02.81. Daniel Satariano ran well to stop the clock in a time of 2:03.65, while senior Aidan Pryor ran a lifetime best in his senior year outdoor opener with a time of 2:05.40. Nathan Kopp rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a time of 2:11.71.
 
The Falcons featured a duo of athletes in the 400 Meter Hurdles, with Adam Hostetler finishing as the top of the two with a MAC-qualifying time of 59.13, finishing within a second of his personal record time. Will Xenakis also qualified for MACs in the 400 Meter Hurdles in his collegiate debut in the event, finishing with a time of 1:00.08.
 
A final highlight on the track for the Falcons took place during the 4x400 Meter Relays, where the Falcons turned in a number of unbelievably fast splits and a very strong collective team times. The Messiah "A" team, consisting of Sean Baxter, Evan Sarkett, John Condon, and Zion Buck, ran an excellent time of 3:22.22 to finish sixth overall in the meet, the Falcons' fastest time in a 4x400 Meter in at least three years. Baxter led off the team with an excellent split of 50.8 out of the blocks, with Sarkett also managing a 51.7 despite being caught up in traffic on the handoff. Condon ran a sensational time of 49.4, his fastest ever split by nearly a full second, with Buck bringing the Falcons home for a heat win with an amazing split of 50.2. The Messiah "B" team, made up of Adam Hostetler, Nate Kopp, Daniel Satariano, and Will Xenakis, also stopped the clock with an incredible time of 3:31.23, led by Xenakis' amazing split of 50.5 on anchor. The Messiah "C" team, which consisted of entirely multi athletes in the form of Jed Colyer, Gavin Dunkerton, Drew Lebo, and Liam McGovern, ran a time of 3:41.27 behind Dunkerton's team-best split of 52.7.
 
In The Field
 
Field events on Friday began with the Shot Put, with Nathan Bowman turning in an excellent MAC-qualifying mark of 13.88 meters to earn himself a spot in fourth on the Messiah All-Time Outdoor Top Ten list. Ted Lechthaler finished just behind his teammate with a season-best and MAC-qualifying mark of 13.82 meters. Jake Holland finished just off of MAC qualifying with a distance of 11.46 meters, with multi athlete Liam McGovern just behind with a mark of 11.39 meters. 
 
Hoyt Lechtahler was also the sole Falcon in the Discus Throw, launching the discus to a distance of 42.59 meters to qualify for MACs and finish just behind his lifetime best. 
 
Field events on Saturday began in the Long Jump, with Zion Buck leading a contingent of Falcons with a strong MAC-qualifying mark of 6.66 meters that sits just 10 centimeters outside of a spot on the top ten list. Jacob Cramer also opened up his outdoor season with a MAC-qualifying mark of 6.10 meters. Drew Lebo set a great personal record distance of 5.69 meters in his debut in the event, with Jed Colyer finishing with a mark of 5.32 meters and Gavin Dunkerton with a leap of 5.19 meters. Declan Hsieh rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a collegiate best mark of 5.17 meters in the Long Jump.
 
Liam McGovern stood as the only Falcon in the Javelin Throw, finishing just behind his personal record in the event with a throw of 46.39 meters that easily qualifies him for MACs.
 
The highlight for the weekend in the field also came in the last event, with Hoyt Lechthaler launching the Hammer to a distance of 48.67 meters, smashing his old personal best distance of 46.64 meters and improving his own third-best All-Time Outdoor Top Ten mark significantly. Lechthaler's new personal record, which easily qualifies him for MACs, stands just a few centimeters outside of the second-best performance in Messiah history, a mark that Lechthaler will seek to best as the season continues.
 
Up Next
 
The Falcons will return to competition next weekend at the Millersville Metric Invitational, hosted by Millersville University. The two-day competition, which will take place across April 4th and 5th, will provide a great opportunity for the Falcons to build on their incredible opening weekend and continue their strong outdoor season.  
 

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