he Elizabethtown College men and women’s track and field teams broke multiple school records at the Bison Open & Multi at Bucknell University this past weekend. The meet
incorporated schools from all three divisions of the NCAA.
On the women’s side, first-year Alexis Groce became the Blue Jays’ record holder in the 500m race, running a 1:19:14. The previous record for Etown was 1:21.07. Junior Amelia Tearnan ran admirably, finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:21.44. This was good enough to move her into third place overall in program history. Senior Ali Christ moved into sixth place all-time after finishing in 1:26.87. This time moved her up from eighth place, where she was previously ranked.
“Our team has been working very hard, despite the weather and the occasional aliments, to give our all at our meets and it shows. Several people qualified for MACs at this past weekend’s meet at Bucknell, which was really awesome,” Groce said. “The team is made up of so many dedicated and encouraging athletes, it’s a great group of people and a great environment to be around. Breaking the 500 record was very exciting and I was very lucky to have had my teammates cheering me on throughout the whole race.”
Senior Traci Tempone finished with the best time for the Blue Jays in the women’s final. Tempone’s time of 5:12.02 was good enough to give her the eighth-fastest time in a field of 58 runners. Senior Megan Tursi and first-year Brianna Earnshaw were able to finish in the top half of the field with times of 5:28.60 and 5:28.94 respectively.
Senior Monica Loranger finished in a six-way tie for 16th in the women’s pole vault. Loranger was only two inches shy of her school record in the event. Senior Eileen Kroszner was able to throw for 11.52m.
For the men, seniors and captains Lucas Dayhoff and Brian Layng both broke school and personal records in the weight throw and heptathlon on Saturday.
Dayhoff, who is the only thrower in program history to throw over 50 feet in the weight throw, increased that mark to 15.99m. This new record is close to a foot more than he threw the last time he set the record at the 2013 Indoor MAC Championships. This throw was good enough to put Dayhoff in fifth place in the event, beating out 37 other throwers.
Layng was one of 16 competitors. He began the second day of competition by running a 8.85 in the 60m hurdles. This was the first time that the senior had run under nine seconds in the event in his career. Layng then vaulted a 3.90m in the pole vault. He then finished his heptathlon with a 2:54.54 in the 1,000m. Layng’s performance was good for a third place finish in the event with 4,532 points. This total beat his old record by over 100 points.
Senior Kevin Brady ran a 8.74 in the 60m hurdle preliminaries Friday night, which was just .05 seconds off his personal best. In the finals on Saturday, Brady ran 9.10 in the final which was good enough for a 13th place finish. The senior also finished just outside the top 10 in the pole vault finishing in 11th place, going 4.35m.
For the first time in his Etown career, first-year Michael Twist was able to join the top 10 list in the 500m by running a 1:08.03, taking second on the all-time list. Twist’s run earned him fourth overall in the event.
Sophomores Matt Shenk and Zach Trama and senior Matt Rever were all able to claim top-ten finishes in their only races over the weekend. Shenk, who placed ninth in the 3,000m, moved from tenth to fourth on the program’s all-time list with a time of 8:44.86.
Both the men and women’s track and field teams will head to Haverford College on Saturday, Feb. 8 to compete in the Seamus McElligott Invitational.
