SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. – The Messiah Men's Track and Field had a successful weekend across two different meets on Saturday, February 14th, performing very well today at both the Valentine Invitational hosted by Susquehanna University and the Widener Indoor Classic hosted at the University of Penn's Ott Center. The majority of the team competed at Susquehanna University, turning in four top ten performances and four new MAC qualifications, with the Falcons' efforts at the Widener's Indoor Classic also yielding a new top ten finish for the team.
The Falcons will return to action on Friday, Feb. 20 at the Bucknell Tune-Up, where the Falcons will look to gain a final array of MAC qualifications and top marks in preparation for the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships to follow the weekend after.
On the Track
Action at the Valentine Invitational hosted by Susquehanna University kicked off with the 5000 Meter Run. The Falcons were led by
Jackson Kay's MAC qualification in the event, with his personal best time of 16:18.35 earning the sophomore his first career ticket to the conference championships.
Ryan Klemick finished close behind with a time of 16:36.04, while
Samuel Mateer finished with his third straight personal record effort in a time of 17:25.56, marking a total improvement of five seconds in the past three competitions.
Matthew Rush also competed in the 5000 Meter, finishing with a time of 17:55.99.
The Falcons benefitted from the inclusion of the rare 4x200 Meter Relay in today's meet, taking advantage of the opportunity to run a very quick time. The Falcon team of
Zach Schwartz,
Zion Buck,
Valen Shrum-Groff, and
Dominic Lewis finished with a fantastic 1:34.40 clocking, the fifth fastest time in program history, led by Buck's incredible 22.87 split on the third leg.
Liam McGovern had a fantastic performance in the 60 Meter Hurdles for the Falcons, clocking a personal best time of 9.18 that stands as an incredible mark, especially for a multi athlete.
Ryan Mowery continued his exceptionally consistent streak of similar times by stopping the clock at 9.23, shortly behind McGovern.
Jed Colyer also finished slightly behind his personal record with a time of 10.16.
In the flat 60 Meter Dash, the Falcons' were led by
Cooper Schwartz' time of 7.44, his fastest performance since December.
Jack Safer finished just behind his personal record of 7.63 with a 7.66 clocking on the day, his third straight performance under 7.7.
A highlight of the day for the Falcons came in the Mile, with
Nathaniel Coggins clocking a time of 4:34.60 to set a new personal best by five seconds and just dipping under the MAC qualifying time of 4:35.05. Coggins went out extremely quickly with the rest of the field, splitting a time of 1:06.19 for the first 400 meters, and managing to just hang on for the rest of the race to finish under 4:35.
Samuel Meyer had an excellent race to finish with a season best time of 4:53.10, while
Luke Acton finished under five minutes in a time of 4:59.31 behind a searing final lap of 33.26.
Celyn Evans also raced the mile for the Falcons, contributing a time of 5:12.50.
The Falcons had a strong contingent competing in the 400 Meter Dash, with
Sean Baxter leading the charge with a time of 51.75.
Will Xenakis finished just a single hundredth of a second behind his personal record of 52.07 with a time of 52.08, coming from behind on the second lap to win his heat convincingly.
Valen Shrum-Groff finished with a time of 53.89 and was followed by
Dominic Lewis turning in a time of 57.89.
The duo of
Daniel Satariano and
Nathan Steen had a thrilling race in the 800 Meter Run, with Satariano finishing just ahead of his freshman teammate as the two clocked respective times of 2:03.46 and 2:03.48 thanks to quick final closing laps.
Larsen Cooper finished with a time of 2:13.24 in a tough, physical heat, the same heat in which
Caleb McInnes finished in a time of 2:20.01.
Valen Shrum-Groff returned from his 400 Meter and 4x200 Meter Relay to finish with a time of 24.08 in the 200 Meter Dash, leading the Falcons in the event.
Jack Safer finished just adrift of his personal best with a time of 24.57, while
Dominic Lewis finished with a time of 24.76.
The 3000 Meter Run provided another highlight for the Falcons on the day, with the Falcons earning their only event win on the track behind
Kaleb Kabakjian's incredible 8:45.23 performance. Kabakjian's first race in over two months in return from injury saw the sophomore open up cautiously with a 2:57 first kilometer, as he was gapped significantly by the top three racers through the first five laps. As the leaders began to fade, Kabakjian improved to a 2:55 kilometer to move up into third, then passed another racer and finally moved into the lead over the final lap, using an incredible 30.23 final split to cap off a 2:51 last kilometer. Kabakjian's patient race and excellent close earned him the 9th fastest time in program history and the event win by a second, signaling excellent things to come for the Indoor MAC championships in two weeks. Behind,
Samuel Hennett finished in 4th place with a time of 9:00.85, with the freshman running a remarkably consistent race to pass one of the early trio of leaders over the final 400 meters and set a new personal record by 10 seconds.
Jared Walker also raced in the 3000 Meter, turning in a time of 9:54.49.
The Falcons ended their competition on the track by fielding a 4x400 Meter Relay team made up of
Sean Baxter,
Daniel Satariano,
Nathaniel Coggins, and
Will Xenakis. The team turned in a time of 3:33.44, led by 52 second splits from both Baxter and Xenakis.Â
Two Falcons competed on the track at the Widener Indoor Classic, with
John Condon toeing the line in the 800 Meter Run and
Louka Fetter competing in the 3000 Meter Run. Condon ran a remarkable race in his return from illness, smashing his lifetime best in the open 800 Meter race to best the entire field with a time of 1:53.28. Condon ran an exceptionally patient race, backing off the searing pace of 53.9 through the 400 meter set by the early leaders and moving up from ninth to first by the finish thanks to an incredible 57.6 last 400 meters. Condon's time stands as an indoor personal best by over a second, moving him up into third all-time.
Louka Fetter finished with a time of 8:36.38 in the 3000 Meter Run to place fifth in a strong field, just falling short of his personal best set two weeks ago.
In the Field
The Falcons had another set of fantastic performances in the field, featuring two event wins and several top ten performances.
Zion Buck finished with a top jump of 6.32 meters (20' 9") in the Long Jump, exactly replicating his top mark from two weeks ago.
Ezra Zook also demonstrated his consistency in the Long Jump with a mark of 5.83 meters (19' 1.5"), just three centimeters off his personal best.Â
Zion Buck returned to lead the Falcons in the Triple Jump, finishing with a leap of 13.23 meters (43' 5"), a strong mark that sits just three centimeters off his season best.
Joseph Dunbar also finished with a mark of 11.76 meters (38' 7").
Ezra Zook had a very strong performance in the Pole Vault, registering his highest collegiate clearance by a margin of 20 centimeters with a top jump of 4.00 meters (13' 1.5"). The Falcons continued their strong efforts in the High Jump, with senior multi athlete
Liam McGovern registering his second personal best of the day thanks to a clearance of 1.78 meters (5' 10").
Gabriel Torrado finished with a collegiate best showing of 1.73 meters (5' 8").Â
The Falcons earned their first of two event wins in the field thanks to
Hoyt Lechthaler's fantastic 16.67 meters (54' 7.5") heave in the Weight Throw, a throw that allowed him to win the competition by 29 centimeters within an incredibly competitive field.
Ted Lechthaler finished just off his personal best with a top throw of 13.44 meters (44' 1.25") and was followed by
Jake Holland (11.53 metes, 37' 10") and
Gamaliel Perde (10.84 meters, 35' 6.75").Â
In the Shot Put,
Nathan Bowman complimented Lechthaler's efforts with a win of his own thanks to a top throw of 15.94 meters (52' 3.75").
Ted Lechthaler made it a 1-2 for the Falcons with a personal best mark of 14.65 meters (48' 0.75"), a six centimeter improvement on his own fourth-best mark in program history.
Luke Bosma finished with another sizable personal record throw of 14.14 meters (46' 4.75"), bringing the junior's improvement this season alone to 1.86 meters. Bosma's throw improved his standing on the Falcons' all-time list from seveth to fifth.
Jake Holland also took his place in the Shot Put, throwing for a top distance of 12.05 meters (39' 6.5"), while
Anthony Russo rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a mark of 11.26 meters (36' 11.5").
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action on Friday, Feb. 20 at the Bucknell Tune-Up, where the Falcons will look to gain a final array of MAC qualifications and top marks in preparation for the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships to follow the weekend after.
