GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah Men's Track and Field team had a very successful home meet, taking the team win out of 26 teams in the scored meet by a large margin with 138.5 points. The Falcons earned the win by a dominant margin over Lebanon Valley College and Dickinson University, which both tied for second with 74 points. The Falcons competed very strongly despite cold, windy, and rainy conditions that made running quickly difficult, still earning a new entry on the Messiah All-Time Outdoor Top Ten list as well as nine MAC qualifications. The Falcons also earned five event wins on the day, contributing to their dominant meet win.
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On the Track
Action on the Track on Day 3 kicked off with the men's 5000m, where
Louka Fetter was the sole Falcon to contest the opening race. Fetter took the win in the event with a time of 14:57.22, a season best and MAC qualifying time for the Junior. Fetter ran very consistently around 15:00 pace for the entire race and worked with S.W.I.F.T racer Andrew Hutchinson to set a consistent early pace before speeding up on the last lap to ensure a sub-15 minute clocking.
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The men's 4x100m relay was the next event on the track, with the Falcons fielding a team consisting of Joshua Karyea,
Austin Grove,
Isaac Sobek, and
Dominic Lewis. The team protected the baton the whole way around the track and finished with a time of 46.90 to register the first 4x100 clocking by the Falcons this year.
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The Falcons had a strong group compete in the 3000m steeplechase, with
Josh Bauman earning the event win with a MAC-qualifying time of 10:06.11. Bauman ran a patient race even as several Frostburg State racers bolted out at the start, ultimately earning a convincing win by a margin of 14 seconds.
Josiah Carnwath ran an excellent race finish with a huge personal best of nearly 30 seconds, finishing with a MAC-qualifying time of 10:28.95.
Gus Rouland finished close behind to pull within 10 seconds of his personal best from last year, finishing with a MAC-qualifying time of 10:31.18.
Nathan Seibert also ran an excellent race to qualify for MACs in his debut in the event, running a time of 10:48.38 to narrowly eclipse the MAC qualifying time of 10:50.24.
Matthew Rush also earned a personal record in the steeplechase in his debut at the event, finishing with a time of 11:05.16.
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John Steele was the sole Falcon to compete in the 110m hurdles, finishing with a time of 17:00. Joshua Karyea ran an excellent race in the cold, rainy, and windy conditions in the flat 100m to qualify for MACs with a time of 11.45, eclipsing the MAC qualifying time by two hundredths of a second. Close behind, both
Dominic Lewis and
Austin Grove set personal record times in the short sprint, with Lewis running a time of 11.87 and Grove a time of 12.05.
Declan Hsieh also set a personal record time of 12.86 in the 100m, his first-ever sub-13 clocking.
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The men's 1500m was the site of fireworks on the track on the day, with two Falcon athletes -
Kyle Costello and
Louka Fetter - teaming up to pace
John Condon at school record pace, amounting to a school record attempt. Costello took the first heat out at a blazing pace well under the school record pace, splitting an unbelievable 42 seconds through 300m and 59 seconds through 400m. Fetter and Condon came through a bit more tempered but still well under pace, and while the pace had settled down through the second lap, the quick early pace had taken its toll. Fetter stepped off the track at 1100m to make way for Condon's final 400m, which he completed in 64 seconds to finish with a winning time of 3:58.19. S.W.I.F.T athlete Logan Horst took second place with a time of 4:04.31, while freshman
Bradley Kreider took third with a stellar personal best 4:05.47 clocking.
Kaleb Kabakjian rounded out the top four with a time of 4:08.82. Competing in subsequent heats,
Nathan Kimmel battled through the line in an effort to earn the heat win and finished in eighth place overall with a time of 4:11.93, while
Zeke Colyer also finished in second place in his heat with a season-best time of 4:16.69.
Jackson Kay set a personal record time of 4:19.73 in heat four, finishing just ahead of
Daniel Satariano's 4:23.65 clocking from the same heat.
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Isaac Sobek was the sole Falcon to compete in the 400m after his efforts in the 4x100m relay, with the sophomore clocking a time of 56.45 that sits right in line with his other performances this season.
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Just as in the 1500m, the Falcons also produced fireworks in the 800m, taking the top two spots in a duel between juniors
Sean Baxter and
John Condon. Condon, after his taxing efforts in the 1500m shortly before, took the early lead of the race and led the field through a first half of roughly 58.5 before being challenged by Baxter on the back stretch. Condon fended off the challenge from Baxter, but both were passed with authority by another athlete with 200m to go, prompting only Baxter to give chase and follow the move. Baxter swung wide with 100m remaining and executed the pass on his competitor just as Condon came roaring back, with the latter's comeback attempt falling half a second short as the finish line quickly approached. Baxter took the event win with a personal record time of 1:56.76, with Condon finishing close behind with a time of 1:57.26.
Kaleb Kabakjian ran a MAC-qualifying time of 2:00.65 in the 800m shortly after his 1500m race, while
Evan Sarkett also competed in the first heat and finished with a time of 2:03.81.
Nathan Kimmel, also doubling back from the 1500m, was the best of the rest from heat three with a time of 2:03.41. Kimmel came on very strongly in the home stretch to surpass teammate
Eli McClymont, who went out very quickly and finished with a strong time of 2:04.45, his third-fastest time ever.
Aidan Pryor also went out very quickly with a 59-second first 400m, ending up with a time of 2:05.76.
Nathan Kopp concluded the Falcons' efforts in the 800m with a time of 2:16.73.
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A duo of Falcons consisting of
Will Xenakis and
Adam Hostetler also competed very well in the 400m hurdles, with Hostetler maintaining a lead over his teammate for much of the race before Xenakis' incredible finishing speed launched him in front of his senior teammate between the final hurdle and the finish line. Xenakis finished with a personal best time of 58.36, his second straight race cutting a second off his personal best, while Hostetler finished just behind with a time of 58.74.
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The Falcons' sprint contingent also performed very well in the 200m, putting up a set of incredible personal records especially given the cool temperatures and sub-optimal weather for quick running.
Austin Grove set a personal record by a margin of over half a second to finish with a personal record time of 24.17, with
Dominic Lewis finishing less than a step behind with a personal best time of 24.22 in his first ever 200m race.
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The Falcons' mid-distance squad concluded their busy day by fielding two strong teams in the 4x800m relay. The "A" Team, consisting of
Sean Baxter,
Evan Sarkett,
Kaleb Kabakjian, and
John Condon, finished their relay with a time of 8:17.56 behind team-best splits of 2:01 for Sarkett and 2:02 for Condon. The Falcons' "B" Team, made up of
Eli McClymont,
Bradley Kreider,
Jackson Kay, and
Aidan Pryor, finished with a time of 8:38.03, with the first two legs by McClymont and Kreider both being clocked at 2:07. Behind the combined efforts of these two teams, the Falcons finished first and third in the 4x800m relay, with Lebanon Valley College splitting the difference in between in second.
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The Falcons fielded only a single team in the 4x400m after fielding two in the 4x800, placing third overall with a time of 3:37.79 behind the efforts of
Adam Hostetler,
Nathan Kopp,
Will Xenakis, and
Daniel Satariano.
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In the Field
The first event to take place in the field on the third day of action was the long jump, with
Zion Buck finishing as top of the trio with a mark of 6.51m (21' 4.25").
Jacob Cramer registered a mark of 6.01m (19' 8.75") on the day, while
Declan Hsieh will search for a mark in the long jump at a subsequent competition.
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Next in the field in the jump was the triple jump, where the Falcons benefited from the solo efforts of
Declan Hsieh. Hsieh had an incredible performance after the long jump despite the cold conditions, powering to a personal record distance of 10.90m that surpasses his old best by nearly half a meter.
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In the pole vault, Joshua Karyea followed up his MAC qualification in the 100m with a duplicate feat in the vault, finishing with his best height as a Falcon with a clearance at 3.72m (12' 2.5"). 3.72m is also the exact height for MAC qualification, allowing Karyea to continue his season on both the track and the field to the exact centimeter.
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The shot put was the first event of the day in the throws, with
Ted Lechthaler finishing as the top Falcon and in second overall with a mark of 13.94m.
Nathan Bowman finished one place behind with a top distance of 13.90m.
Jake Holland and
Anthony Russo also competed in the shot put, finishing with respective distances of 11.35m and 10.78m in the event.
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The hammer throw was a very successful event for the Falcons, with
Hoyt Lechthaler leading the crew with a top mark of 48.23m, the third mark above 48 meters in as many meets on the season for the senior.
Ted Lechthaler finished not far behind with a personal best throw in the hammer of 39.12m, landing himself inside the Messiah All-Time Outdoor Top Ten list in 9th place.
Jake Holland also had a fantastic hammer competition, finishing with a personal best mark of 32.63m that qualifies him for MACs by a mere two centimeters, the third MAC qualification so far this season for the freshman.
Nathaniel Leitzel also set a personal record distance of 29.90m in his debut in the weight throw, just ahead of
Anthony Russo's personal best effort of 26.13m in the hammer.
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Nathaniel Leitzel also had a fantastic day in the final field event of the day, the javelin, by leading the Falcons in the event with a new personal record distance of 44.90m.
Luke Bosma also finished with a personal best in the javelin with a mark of 40.67m, finishing off the day in the field a perfect two for two in terms of personal bests.
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What's Up Next
The Falcons will have a quick turnaround to their next competition at York, which will be held on Wednesday, April 16th, due to next week being an abbreviated week as a result of Easter Break. The Falcons will look to make the most of their meet at York, which will serve as one of their two remaining regular season meets left on the year in preparation for MACs in three weeks' time.
