The men and women’s track and field teams hosted a meet at home on Saturday, March 22. The men’s team tied for first place with York College, and the women’s team took first place as well.
On the men’s team, first-year Mike Twist took first place in the 800m with a time of 2:00.39. Senior Matt Rever, running the 1500m, also took first place as the only runner to finish in less than four minutes with a time of 3:58.36. First-year Jon Anderson also raced the 1500m and came in second place. The men’s 4X400 was comprised of Rever, junior Bryan Baldwin, senior Brian Layng and Twist who won first place in 3:28.60.
On the field, senior Lucas Dayhoff won first place in hammer throw and fifth place in shot put.
“It was really great to compete on our home turf,” Dayhoff said. “I couldn’t think of a better way to begin my final outdoor season with such a great team.”
First-year Max Mahan took first place in high jump and also added himself to the top ten list in high jump. He jumped 1.88 meters, which was the fifth-highest in the history of the outdoor program. Mahan also competed in long jump with junior Joe Bayona. Mahan took third place in long jump with a height of 6.13 meters, and Bayona finished in sixth place with a jump of 5.98 meters.
Senior Kevin Brady finished pole vault in first place with his best jump of the day at 4.30m. Also competing in pole vault was National Champion Kevin Clark, an Elizabethtown College alumnus, who took second place. Senior Brian Layng took third place.
Brady also was in high spirits after the meet concluded. “This meet was an awesome way to start our season,” Brady said. “I’m really happy with our efforts [this weekend] and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the season will hold.”
Four women were added to the all-time bests in the Etown outdoor program history. The women had nine top 10 performances and a first-place win overall as a team on Saturday.
Senior Traci Tempone raced the 1500m in 4:41.99 to win first place. This was also a personal best for Tempone and put her at fourth on the all-time best list. Junior Amelia Tearnan, first-year Alexis Groce, first-year Brianna Earnshaw and senior Laurie Jones all competed in the 800m and scored points.
First-year Kelsey Detweiler had another successful meet and was added to the top 10 list in the 100m and 200m dash. She took second place in the 200m. Senior Eileen Cody and first-year Samantha Zarzaca took first and second place, respectively, in the 10k with Cody finishing in 42:12.84 and Zarzaca in 42:48.02.
Senior Megan Tursi, senior Elaina Nellis and sophomore Gabrielle Yankelevich all ran the steeplechase. Tursi finished in first with a time of 11:40.33, Nellis came in fourth at 13:16.83 and Yankelevich finished at 13:43.74. The women’s 4X400m relay consisted of Groce, Detweiler, Tearnan and junior Ashley Underkofler, who crossed the finish line at 4:26.65 for a first-place win.
“I can’t believe that this will be my last season as a college athlete,” Nellis said. “These past four years have gone so fast, and I’ve made so many memories with my teammates. Its going to be tough when it’s finally over.”
Senior Monica Loranger competed in pole vault, jumping 3.23 meters to give her first place, and 1.52 meters in high jump to take second place. First-year Amanda Porter had a successful day and scored at least one point in all four throwing events. Senior Eileen Kroszner walked away with a first-place win in the hammer throw and sixth place in the shot put and javelin.
Both men’s and women’s teams will be competing at the Adidas Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State University this weekend.