MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah Men's Track and Field team competed at Millersville University on Saturday, April 18th, a trip highlighted by a few spectacular performances achieved by the smaller squad at a smaller meet. The Falcons earned three event wins in competition against 23 other teams and track clubs, with two additional MAC qualifications and three Messiah top ten performances also being achieved on the day.
The Falcons will return to action with a full team at the Paul Kaiser Invitational hosted by Shippensburg University next weekend on Saturday, April 25th, their final competition before Outdoor MACs.
On the Track
Action on the track opened with the 5000 Meter Run, an event that featured two Falcons racers in
Kaiden Braught and
Gavin Coggins. Braught had an excellent performance to finish under 18 minutes in the 5000 Meter for the first time in over a year and his first time as a Falcon, stopping the clock at 17:54.71 after a very quick first half to his race.
Gavin Coggins finished near his collegiate best in a time of 18:27.02.
In the 110 Meter Hurdles, multi athletes
Liam McGovern and
Jed Colyer were the only Falcons to toe the line, with McGovern turning in a time of 17.30 in the preliminary round and Colyer a time of 19.91. Both athletes qualified for the final, in which McGovern placed fifth with a personal best time of 16.89. Colyer did not start in the final after competing in two other events on the day.
Jack Safer led the Falcons in the 100 Meter Dash, finishing in 12th place in the preliminary round with a time of 11.69 as the wind blew against the racers. Jace Russell also finished with a time of 12.40.
Matthew Rush had an excellent race in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase, turning in a personal best performance with a time of 10:37.24 to qualify for MACs. Rush had an extremely consistent race, running faster than the MAC qualifying pace consistently throughout the race to improve upon his season best by roughly 17 seconds and his personal best by 10.
Evan Sarkett led a host of Falcons in the 1500 Meter Run with a time of 4:17.17, beginning the race very quickly with the leaders before ultimately finishing in fifth place overall.
Nick Donohue also began very quickly before settling into a rhythm, finishing with a time of 4:30.23.
Celyn Evans earned a small collegiate best with a time of 4:36.18, while
Caleb McInnes rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a time of 4:58.97.
Will Xenakis turned in a fantastic performance for the Falcons in the 400 Meter Dash, improving on his lifetime best in the event by two tenths of a second with a 50.25 clocking to finish third overall.
Valen Shrum-Groff turned in his third sub-52 performance so far this year with a 51.95 finish as the other Falcon in the event, placing seventh.
The Falcons also had a very successful outing in the 800 Meter Run, highlighted by
Sean Baxter winning the event in a new lifetime best of 1:55.39 that improves upon his personal best from indoor season by roughly half a second. Baxter followed his teammate
Kaleb Kabakjian through a solid 57.24 first lap before making a convincing move during the third 200 meter and holding on to the finish, closing his race in a 58.15 final split en route to an incredible five second winning margin. Kabakjian split a time of 1:03.57 on his second lap to finish with a time of 2:00.48 to place third, just ahead of teammate
Bradley Kreider's personal best time of 2:00.75. Both Kabakjian and Kreider finished within several tenths of the MAC qualifying time of 2:00.38.
Larsen Cooper finished with a time of 2:09.58, followed by
Jake Shoul's 2:11.59 collegiate best.
Daniel Erikson competed in the 400 Meter Hurdles and finished fifth overall with a time of 1:00.08, while
Eli Reeder finished with a time of 1:12.47 in his second collegiate race and first outdoor outing.
In the 200 Meter Dash,
Jack Safer once again led the Falcons with a time of 23.65 despite unfavorable wind. Safer was followed by
Cooper Schwartz' 25.08 clocking.
The Falcons concluded their efforts on the track with a time of 3:23.71 in the 4x400 Meter Relay, a fantastic time from a team of
Sean Baxter,
Valen Shrum-Groff,
Will Xenakis, and
Evan Sarkett. Baxter led the team to a sub-51 start out of blocks before Shrum-Groff and Xenakis both split under 52 seconds. Sarkett's anchor leg of 49.96 pushed the winning team from Thaddeus Stevens to the line as the Falcons finished second in the event thanks to Sarkett's second-ever sub-50 clocking.
In the Field
The unquestionable highlight for the Falcons for the meet came in the Shot Put, with
Nathan Bowman turning in an absolutely sensational performance to set the facility record in winning the meet. Bowman finished with a top throw of 18.93 meters (62' 1.25"), a personal best by over two meters that obliterates his previous best of 16.77 meters (55' 0.25") and achieves the previous school record of 18.00 meters (59' 0.75") of Trevor Stutzman, a multiple national qualifier. The incredible quality of Bowman's performance is difficult to quantify, as the sophomore is now ranked second nationally in Division III after finishing the indoor season ranked 21st in Division III. Bowman would also currently be sitting in a national qualifying spot in Division I in a tie for 14th place, a completely unfathomable accomplishment for an athlete at the Division III level. Bowman set a personal record on five of his six throws, improving from 16.27 meters to 17.12 meters, then 17.88 meters, 17.92 meters, 18.26 meters, and finally 18.93 meters on his final throw in front of a stunned and elated Messiah crowd.
Ted Lechthaler finished in second place in the Shot Put with a top throw of 14.75 meters (48' 4.75") very near his best, and was followed by an outdoor personal record of 13.71 meters (44' 11.75") from
Luke Bosma, a mark that improves his standing in program history from seventh to sixth.
Anthony Russo finished very near his personal best from just two days ago with a mark of 12.56 meters (41' 2.5"), while
Jake Holland achieved a MAC qualifying mark of 12.47 meters (40 '11"). Jace Russell concluded the Falcons' efforts with a throw of 10.76 meters (35' 3.75").
Two Falcons competed in the Javelin Throw, with
Luke Bosma narrowly finishing ahead of
Joseph Dunbar as the duo turned in respective marks of 46.97 meters (154' 1") and 46.59 meters (152' 10"). In the Long Jump, a windy day led to a number of performances short of personal bests. The Falcons were led by
Liam McGovern's 5.87 meters (19' 3.25") leap, a mark followed by
Declan Hsieh's 5.57 meter (18' 3.25") performance and
Jed Colyer's top jump of 5.11 meters (16' 9.25").
Joseph Dunbar also competed in the Triple Jump, finishing as the top Falcon with a distance of 11.73 meters (38' 6").
Declan Hsieh finished with a new personal best jump of 36' 9.75" in his second event of the day.
Liam McGovern and
Jed Colyer remained busy on the day as they also took their places in the High Jump, with McGovern equaling his outdoor season best with a clearance at 1.75 meters (5' 8.75"). Colyer finished with a clearance at 1.65 meters (5' 5"), his top jump so far this outdoor season.
The Falcons' efforts in the field were concluded with
Ezra Zook's collegiate best clearance at 4.10 meters (13' 5.25"), surpassing his previous best this year by ten centimeters.
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action with a full team at the Paul Kaiser Invitational hosted by Shippensburg University next weekend on Saturday, April 25th, their final competition before Outdoor MACs.
