GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Men's and Women's Track and Field teams were in action for the first two days of action at the Messiah Multi and Invitational on Thursday and Friday, with the entirety of the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon spanning both days. Friday was also host to the opening events of the general Invitational, with the Discus Throw and the 10000 Meter Run being contested.
Day One
Thursday's action was solely reserved for the multi events, as
Liam McGovern,
Jed Colyer, and
Ben Reichenbach took their place in the first five of ten events across two days for the Men's Decathlon. McGovern and Colyer both opened their competition with a personal record in the 100 Meter Dash of 11.88 for McGovern and 11.98 for Colyer, while Reichenbach eased to a cautious 12.94. McGovern led the way once more for the Falcons in the Long Jump, turning in a fantastic distance of 6.20 meters (20' 4.25") just shy of his personal record. Colyer also registered an enormous personal best of 6.11 meters (20' .5"), surpassing 20 feet for the first time and smashing his previous best of 5.98 meters (19' 7.5"). Reichenbach passed on his jumps in order to preserve his body for the throwing events of the multi.
The Shot Put continued the Falcons' hot streak, with McGovern throwing for a lifetime best of 12.01 meters (39' 5") that finally breaks his freshman year personal record of 11.89 meters (39' 0.25") from three years ago. Reichenbach also finished with a small personal record of 11.98 meter (39' 3.75") and was followed by Colyer, completing a Falcon 1-2-3 in the Shot Put portion of the multi with a put of 10.95 meters (35' 11.25"). McGovern competed well in the High Jump to finish with a mark of 1.75 meters (5' 8.75"), while Colyer finished with a mark of 1.57 meters (5' 1.75"). The two finished very close together to conclude day one in the 400 Meter Dash with times of 56.12 for Colyer and 56.43 for McGovern, while Reichenbach eased to a 62.41 to ensure he could continue to throw in day two. McGovern eclipsed 3000 points for his day one total with a 3038 tally, a fantastic start to the competition, while Colyer also maintained a personal record pace of 2804 points through five events.Â
Thursday was also the site of the start to day one of the Women's Heptathlon, with senior
Kara Brown contesting the multi for the first time in her collegiate career. Brown completed her specialty event, the 100 Meter Hurdles, in a time of 16.01 to begin the competition, before leading the field with an incredible clearance of 1.54 meters (5' 0.5") in the High Jump that stands as her third-highest clearance in 44 collegiate competitions. Brown also turned in a solid mark of 8.62 meters (28' 3.5") in the Shot Put before concluding day one with another strong mark of 28.71 in the 200 Meter Dash despite a strong headwind. Brown earned 2395 points through day one, an excellent pace of scoring due to all four events being those that Brown has previously contested at some point in her collegiate career.Â
Day Two
Day two of the Men's Decathlon began with the 110 Meter Hurdles to kick off the action on Friday. McGovern was the top Falcon in a solid time of 17.51, within about half a second of his personal record, while Colyer set a new lifetime best behind an 18.58 clocking. In the Discus, Reichenbach led the field in his first lifetime contest, throwing for 38.18 meters (125' 3"). McGovern finished just shy of his personal record with a 35.45 meters (116' 4") throw, while Colyer improved significantly on his personal record with a top throw of 31.02 meters (101' 9"). In the Pole Vault, both Falcons finished just off their personal record marks, with McGovern's top clearance of 3.55 meters (11' 7.75") and Colyer's at 3.45 meters (11' 3.75"). The Javelin Throw saw another Falcon 1-2-3 in a repeat of the Shot Put, with Reichenbach taking top honors this time in a personal record mark of 49.85 meters (163' 6"). Colyer smashed his previous personal best in the Javelin with a mark of 45.73 meters (150' 0") as McGovern finished just behind in a distance of 43.57 meters (142' 11"). The meet concluded with the 1500 Meter Run, with Colyer finishing in a time of 5:19.67 and McGovern a time of 5:28.80. Both Falcons finished with sizable personal bests in the Decathlon, with McGovern shattering his previous best of 5337 from two years ago with a 5578 total to finish second overall. McGovern's point total places him seventh all-time in school history. Colyer improved upon his previous best of 4802 with a finishing score of 5206 points, followed by Reichenbach's 2632 total behind his efforts in just five throwing and running events.Â
Kara Brown also had a successful day two on the women's side, opening her competition with a 4.25 meters (13' 11.5") Long Jump that sits just behind her debut in the event from last week. Brown finished with a distance almost identical to her personal best in the Javelin Throw with a mark of 24.53 meters (80' 6") before concluding her competition with a 2:51.51 800 Meter Run after six grueling events. Brown's total of 3583 points in her first ever Heptathlon placed her fifth in the competition and 10th in program history, a fantastic performance for the Senior.
Friday night also featured the 10000 Meter Run for both the men and the women, with the women's race beginning first in warm, sunny conditions.
Delaney Turk finished in third overall with a time of 39:50.04 in her debut at the event, while
Ava Shirk finished with a time of 41:46.77 in her second 10000 Meter in three weeks. In the men's race, which featured cooler temperatures,
Ryan Klemick had an incredible race to place fifth in a time of 33:33.59, a personal record by nearly a minute. Klemick opened up his race with a 17:04 first 5000 meter split before quickening in the final two miles to finish his second half in 16:29, running a new lifetime best thanks to a huge negative split.
Samuel Mateer and
Jared Walker finished beside one another in the finishing order after running together for much of the race in what was a debut 10000 Meter for both freshman, with Mateer registering a time of 35:37.71 and Walker a time of 35:45.27.Â
In the field, five Falcons competed in the Men's Discus Throw, led by
Jake Holland's eighth-place finish with a mark of 41.10 meters (134' 10").
Luke Bosma finished one place behind with a top throw of 40.74 meters (133' 8").
Nathan Bowman finished close behind the Falcon duo in a season best 40.25 meters (132' 1").
Gamaliel Perde finished with a MAC-qualifying mark of 36.48 meters (119' 8") in the Discus, eclipsing the qualifying standard by just several inches in his first collegiate attempt at the event.
In the women's Discus Throw, freshman
Libby Jones led a host of Falcons with a top throw of 28.61 meters (93' 10"), her first collegiate competition in the Discus.
Jaclyn Steenstra finished close behind with a top throw of 28.03 meters (91' 11"), one place ahead of
Leah Ritzman's 27.34 meters (89' 8") performance.
Sidney Avers registered a top throw of 23.92 meters (78' 6"), followed by
Seneca Mikesell's debut in the Discus at 20.64 meters (67' 8") and
Morgan Deibler's top throw of 19.23 meters (63' 1").Â
After two days of competition, action at the Messiah Multi and Invitational will conclude on Saturday, April 11, during which the majority of individual track and field events will be contested.
