LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Falcons competed well across Friday and Saturday at the Bison Challenge and Multi hosted by Bucknell University with incredible performances across the two days. The Falcons produced a sensational three school records Saturday afternoon on Day Two, with 10 top ten performances also following in tow. The Falcons also competed wonderfully against 19 other teams and multiple club programs, many of which were either Division I or Division II, earning two event wins and eight top five placements across events. The incredible success of the Falcons' across the meet's two days is hard to overstate. The Falcons were able to demonstrate their abilities amidst intense competition and come away with a number of wonderful performances, giving them great confidence as their season progresses.
The Falcons will return to action next week at the Franklin & Marshall Blue & White Invitational, hosted on February 7th, while looking forward to their month ultimately concluding with the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships.Â
Friday Action
Action on the track opened with freshman
Ryan Mowery's performance in the preliminary round of the 60 Meter Hurdles. Mowery finished with a collegiate and personal best time of 9.15 to place 19th in an exceptionally competitive field littered with Division I and Division II competition, moving into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time performance list over the high hurdles.
The Falcons picked up their event win on the day as well as another all-time program records list performance with the next race, the Distance Medley Relay. The Falcon team, made up of
John Condon running the 1200 Meter,
Will Xenakis running the 400 Meter,
Sean Baxter running the 800 Meter, and
Louka Fetter on anchor over the 1600 Meter distance, finished with a time of 10:16.46 to comfortably defeat all Division I and Division II competitions for the event win. The Falcons' time also matched to the exact hundredth their time from last year's Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, moving the team into a tie for the fourth best relay in program history. The Falcons benefitted from all-around solid splits of 3:08 from Condon, 51.5 from Xenakis, 1:56 from Baxter, and 4:19 from Fetter to combine for a seven second win over a very strong field.
The Falcons continued to pour on the spectacular performances in the 200 Meter Dash, with
Dominic Lewis turning in a stunning time of 23.72 to win his heat, a lifetime personal best and enough to place eighth on the Falcons' all-time top ten list in the event. Immediately behind finished
Zach Schwartz, with the freshman stopping the clock at 23.76 for an indoor personal best, moving him into a three-way tie for ninth in program history.Â
The other performances on Day One were centered around the Heptathlon, with
Liam McGovern and
Jed Colyer competing in the full heptathlon, hosted across two days, for the first time this season. McGovern and Colyer both finished just adrift of their season best times in the 60 Meter with 7.53 and 7.70 clockings, which the duo followed up by putting up lengths of 6.08 meters (19' 11.5") for McGovern and 5.29 meters (17' 4.25") for Colyer in the Long Jump. McGovern finished with another fantastic performance with a sizable season best throw in the shot put of 11.58 meters (38' 0"), with Colyer registering a mark of 10.46 meters (34' 4"). McGovern continued his streak of solid performances with a top clearance of 1.70 meters (5' 7") in the High Jump, while Colyer took three attempts at 1.52 meters (4' 11.75") but did not find a clearance on the day. McGovern sits in fifth place overall within an extremely competitive field of multi athletes with a total of 2432 points for Day One, just shy of his personal best pace, while Colyer finished with 1602 points for the first half of competition.
Saturday Track Action
Action on the track for Day Two began with the preliminary round of the 60 Meter Dash, with three excellent performances from the Falcons setting the tone early in the meet. The highest placing of the trio was freshman
Valen Shrum-Groff, who set a new personal record and MAC qualifying time of 7.29 to place 19th overall. Shrum-Groff's time ties to the hundredth the qualifying time necessary for MACs in the event, vaulting him into ninth all-time in program history. Close behind,
Dominic Lewis followed up his sensational personal record effort in the 200 Meter last night with another personal best in the 60 Meter, this time stopping the clock at 7.46.
Cooper Schwartz also ran a strong race for the Falcons, turning in a time of 7.53.Â
The Mile was the next event on the track for the Falcons, with
Samuel Hennett leading the charge for the Falcons in the event with an indoor personal record time of 4:32.98.
Jackson Kay and
Eli McClymont also both earned indoor personal records times of 4:41.48 and 4:42.18 respectively after trading the lead multiple times in the last several laps.Â
The 400 Meter Dash was the site of another top ten performance for the Falcons, this time thanks to
Will Xenakis's 52.07 clocking, a mark that bettered both his previous best of 52.20 and also the 10th best time in program history of 52.13. Xenakis moves into ninth place all-time for the Falcons, backing up his remarkable 400 meter leg on last night's DMR with a new best in the open race.
Valen Shrum-Groff also had a breakout race in the 400 Meter in his second competition of the day after an excellent 60m, running a time of 52.55 in his first indoor collegiate 400 Meter to qualify for MACs.Â
Daniel Satariano was the top finisher for the Falcons in the 800 Meter Run with a time of 2:02.89, a sizable season best for the sophomore that also just sneaks under the MAC qualifying time of 2:03.04.
Nathan Steen toed the line in the 800 Meter as well, finishing with a time of 2:04.98.Â
Next on the track were the more unique events of the day, with the Bucknell Challenge and Multi always hosting a 500 Meter Run and 1000 Meter Run competition for athletes, a definite rarity at the collegiate level. Nevertheless, the Falcons also maintain a top ten list for these events, with both school records being broken today in both events thanks to fantastic performances from two upperclassmen.
Sean Baxter finished second overall in the 500 Meter with a stellar time of 1:06.13, completely obliterating the old school record mark of 1:07.53 in the senior's first ever attempt at the distance. In the 1000 Meter Run, junior
Evan Sarkett earned an event win in first overall, soloing a 2:34.45 clocking that just sneaks under the previous school record time of 2:34.90, set in 2017.
Nathaniel Coggins, who finished fourth overall in the 1000 Meter with an excellent time of 2:41.20, also earned a spot in program history in 10th overall over the 1000 Meter distance.
Matthew Rush and
Larsen Cooper also had impressive races in the unique distance, finishing with respective personal best times of 2:47.52 and 2:48.04.Â
The 3000 Meter provided another highlight and the final school record of the day for the Falcons, with senior
Louka Fetter breaking his own school record and registering his third time running 8:33 with an 8:33.18 clocking, his fastest decimal to date. Fetter went out quickly in a searing pace thanks to an incredibly competitive race at the front, quickly finding himself in uncharted territory. The effects of the early hot pace began to wear as Fetter began to trail the leaders, but not before rallying on the final lap to finish in second overall in a new school record. Behind,
Micah Kao and
Jacob Sahlstrom both finished with personal records in the 3000 Meter, clocking respective times of 9:17.60 and 9:24.28.Â
Events on the track concluded with the 4x400 Meter Relay, with the Falcons fielding two teams. The team made up of
Jackson Kay,
Daniel Satariano,
Evan Sarkett, and
Nathaniel Coggins finished as the first of two for the Falcons with a time of 3:46.58, while the second team of
Matthew Rush,
Eli McClymont,
Nathan Steen, and
Larsen Cooper clocked a time of 3:51.22.Â
Saturday Field Action
The Falcons' proficiency on the track was matched in the field, with one of the highlights of the day being the Shot Put.
Nathan Bowman registered a new personal record distance of 15.90 meters (52' 2") to improve upon his own third all-time performance in program history, while
Ted Lechthaler registered a season best mark of 14.07 meters (46' 2") behind. Junior
Luke Bosma became the newest entrant on the Falcons' top ten list with an excellent personal record throw of 13.07 meters (42' 10.75"), putting him ninth all-time in program history.
Zion Buck competed well for the Falcons in the Long Jump, submitting a top distance of 6.32 meters (20' 9") on the day.
Joseph Dunbar also finished near his personal best with a leap of 5.64 meters (18' 6"). Both returned in the Triple Jump to finish off their long day, with Buck finishing in a top leap of 12.91 meters (42' 4.25") and Dunbar registering a top jump of 11.90 meters (39' 0.5").
Hoyt Lechthaler put up another impressive performance in the Weight Throw to lead the Falcons in the event, finishing with a top mark of 16.38 meters (53' 9") and placing fifth overall in an exceptionally deep field that also set the facility record for the longest throw at Bucknell's indoor complex. Lechthaler's performance today marks the third meet during which the graduate student has finished over 16.30 meters on the day. Lechthaler remains in pursuit of the elusive school record in the weight throw of 16.67 meters (54' 8.25"), a mark that may fall soon with several meets left to go.
Ted Lechthaler finished with a mark of 13.30 meters (43' 7.75") in the weight, with
Jake Holland also registering an excellent distance of 12.47 meters (40' 11"), just a few centimeters shy of his personal best.Â
The Falcons' two multi athletes,
Liam McGovern and
Jed Colyer, followed up their efforts from Day One with the final three events, and ultimately the conclusion, of the heptathlon on Day Two. McGovern finished with a new personal best score in the heptathlon of 4205 points, just eclipsing the ninth best mark in program history of 4201 points, allowing the senior to move from 10th to ninth on the program's all-time list. McGovern set a new personal record in the heptathlon overall despite being slightly behind pace after Day One thanks to an excellent Day Twp. A 9.28 clocking to open the day in the 60 Meter Hurdles finished just a few hundredths shy of McGovern's personal record, with an incredible pole vault of 3.56 meters (11' 8") - a personal record by an astonishing 24 centimeters (10 inches) - making up the difference. McGovern's final 1000 Meter Run of 3:07.79, just shy of a personal record, was just enough to finish with a new lifetime best.
Jed Colyer also concluded his heptathlon with a strong Day Two, opening his day with a personal best time of 9.90 in the 60 Meter Hurdles. Colyer matched McGovern's clearance of 3.56 meters (11' 8") in the Pole Vault, finishing close to his personal record, and also virtually matched McGovern in the 1000 Meter, clocking a time of 3:07.82 to end up three hundredths behind his teammate. Colyer finished with a total score of 3250 despite not registering a clearance and not gaining any points in the High Jump, indicating a much higher total to come at MACs.
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action next week at the Franklin & Marshall Blue & White Invitational, hosted on February 7th, while looking forward to their month ultimately concluding with the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships.Â
