LHU Men’s Track & Field turns in impressive stretch; Notable individual marks & relay records headline outing

LOCK HAVEN– The Lock Haven men’s outdoor track & field team continued its run of success with a busy, and extremely impressive three days of competition.

The Bald Eagles competed at the Colonial Relays, hosted by William & Mary (Thursday – Saturday, April 4-6), and several members of the team were also in action today (Saturday, April 6) at Susquehanna’s Jim Taylor Invitational.

Over the busy stretch, Lock Haven recorded a number of impressive individual performances that led to both NCAA Division II and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship qualifying marks.

Today (Saturday), the Bald Eagles also turned in a pair of school-record efforts in relay events. The Haven men set a new school record in the sprint medley relay, besting a mark that had stood since 1990. Lock Haven also set a school record in the 4×200-meter relay.

Colonial Relays Recap:

Leading the way at William & Mary was Peter Bellomo (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore), who hit an NCAA championship qualifying mark in the javelin throw on Friday. Bellomo continued to impress in his rookie season, and he finished second overall in javelin’s invite field with a mark of 201-09.5, which is both an NCAA and PSAC mark.

Jakob Rager (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) ran to a PSAC mark in the 5,000-meter run. He was fourth of 21 with a time of 15:15.70.

Matthew Muthler (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Josiah Schans (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) turned in top-10 performances Friday in the 400-meter hurdles. Muthler was seventh with a PSAC time of 55.71 and Schans was eighth with a PSAC time of 55.89.

Schans turned in a big day Friday as he also placed second of 12 in the 110-meter hurdles with a PSAC time of 15.31.

Ryan Miller (Bradford, Pa./Bradford) was sixth in the 400-meter dash with another impressive early-season time of 48.47.

Kwame Whitaker Jr. (Fredericksburg, Va./Courtland) ran well at 200 meters Friday afternoon (22.36).

Cade McLaughlin (Ontelaunee Lake, Pa./Berks Catholic) and Gavin Furey (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) ran to PSAC marks in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 1,500-meter run, respectively, with times of 9:48.98 (9th) and 3:59.96 (5th).

On Friday, the Bald Eagles also racked up solid marks in the field events.

Whitaker and Justice Shoats (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) led the way as the two finished second and 10th in the long jump (*Invite Field) with marks of 22-10.00 (#PSAC) and 21-04.5.

Shoats returned to take third in the men’s high jump invitational field with a PSAC leap of 6-04.75.

Nathan Fetchkan (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) and Eric Zalar (Shamokin, Pa./Shamokin) hit marks of 46-02.25 (3rd, #PSAC) and 43-03.25 (7th) in the shot put.

Leading the way today (Saturday, April 6) at William & Mary was the Bald Eagles’ school-record efforts in the sprint medley relay (SMR) and 4×200-meter relay.

Lock Haven placed second in the SMR (200m-200m-400m-800m) with a time of 3:28.81, which bested a record that stood from 34 years (1990). Michael Lawrence (Blakeslee, Pa./Pocono Mountain West), Ryan Miller, Muthler and Furey ran to the record for The Haven.

The Bald Eagles ran 1:28.73 (4th) in the 4×2 and broke a record from 2019. Whitaker, Lucca Capparelli (State College, Pa./State College), Brennan Miller (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) and Jaden Wright (Ulster, Pa./Athens) teamed up to set the new school record.

The Haven men finished fourth and were the top Division II team in the 4×1,500-meter relay with a time of 16:54.58. The Bald Eagles also placed fifth in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:21.83 and seventh in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 42.73.

Lawrence finished ninth in the men’s triple jump invite field (43-01.5).

In the discus invitational field, Braedon Firanski (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) placed ninth with a PSAC mark of 145-02.75.

The only event Thursday (April 4) at the Colonial Relays was the hammer throw and leading the way was Colton Myers (Boiling Springs, Pa./Cumberland Valley). He was fourth of 12 with a throw of 141-08.75. In the invitational field, Fetchkan threw 143-04.25 (11th).

Jim Taylor Invitational Recap:

Several Bald Eagles also competed at Susquehanna today (Saturday, April 6), and the Bald Eagles dominated the 5,000-meter event. Colby Petrizzo (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain), Anthony Solis (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) and Kohen Stover (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Chase Young (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) added a third-place finish in the triple jump.

Up Next for Lock Haven:

The Bald Eagles will be back in action at the Susquehanna River Hawk Multi and Invite (Thurs. – Sat., April 11-13), and Lock Haven will also be in action at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic (Sat. & Sun., April 13-14).