SU track has successful meet at Fred Hardy Invitational

trackgrimaldoberriossportswebw4_2_12 — **Photo by Grimaldo Berrios** / The Slate

The Shippensburg University women’s track and field squad posted 27 PSAC qualifying performances while the men’s track and field squad posted 26 as it finished its weekend at the Fred Hardy Invitational hosted by the University of Richmond.

On the women’s side, the 4×100-meter relay of Monique Clemons, Lauren Redington, Danesha Butler and Courtney Martin tied the school record by winning Saturday’s race with a time of 47.73 seconds. Clemons, Butler and Martin all recorded PSAC qualifiers in the open 100 meters.

Ashley Merton won the javelin on Saturday with a throw of 127 feet, 4 inches. Brittany Harlacker took second place after a toss of 124 feet, 1 inch.

Graduate Lara Crofford led the Raider contingent in the 3K with a time of 9:55.30.

On the men’s side, Tom Kehl and Joel Flott were the Raider pacesetters in the event, with Kehl finishing with a personal record of 1:52.31 and Flott posting a time of 1:52.35 that was just off his outdoor personal record. In total, eight Raiders met the PSAC standard in the 800 meters.

In the field, Derek Nothstein recorded his second-straight NCAA provisional qualifying mark after a throw of 196 feet, 10 inches.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay of Robert Bales, Tyrek Nelson, Andrew Kujawski and Eric Wolfe set a new meet record with a first-place time of 3:15.65.

In the open 400-meter, Bales won in 48.14 seconds, while Andrew Kujawski posted a time of 48.94 seconds and Wolfe crossed the finish line in 49.13 seconds. They were three of the six Raiders who qualified in the 400 meters.

The men’s 4×800-meter relay also recorded a victory, as the quartet of Matt Ahearn, Dan Dreeman, Bernard England and Flott posted a time of 7:46.33.

Travis Nye nearly hit a provisional mark in the discus with a huge personal record throw of 161 feet, 10 inches that resulted in a third-place finish. In the long jump, Herman Kirkland led a group of three Raiders that satisfied the PSAC standard in the long jump with a mark of 23 feet, 1/2 inches.