Three-peat.
Good things come in threes.
Those two phrases never rang any clearer as the Shippensburg University men’s indoor track team ousted its PSAC competition in dramatic form, finishing the meet with 197.5 points — 78 above second-place finisher East Stroudsburg University.
Matt Gillette garnered the Track MVP as well as the Overall MVP after taking the 3,000-meter run and the one-mile run. Gillette shattered a personal record in the 3K finishing in 8:18.52. His one-mile run (4:13.40) earned him an NCAA provisional qualifier.
His teammates continued the dominating pace that Gillette set. The Raiders tallied nine victories in 18 events, including impressive wins in the 800-meter and the 200-meter.
Tom Kehl (1:54.26) and Joel Flott (1:54.68) finished 1–2 in the 800-meter, both barely missing earning NCAA provisional qualifiers.
Matthew Kujawski picked up an impressive victory in the 200-meters, finishing in 21.97 and earning a NCAA provisional qualifier in the process. SU continued to solidify its stranglehold in the meet as Kujawski (6.9411) and Herman Kirkland (6.944) finished second and third, respectively, in the 60-meter dash.
The relay teams both picked up key victories during the championship meet. The 4X800-meter relay got a tough test from ESU but Bernard England, Dan Dreeman, Mathieu Bee and Kehl paced the Raiders to a one-second victory over the Warriors. In the DMR, Ryan Spangler, Jordan Jones, Flott and Gillette blazed through the competition and its time (10:07.61) earned the group an NCAA provisional qualifier.
In the field, freshman Jalen Ramsey earned an NCAA provisional qualifier, and finished second after he failed to win a jump-off against West Chester University’s Jay Jabat in five rounds. Ramsey had an impressive meet, as he and Jabat were the only finalists after clearing 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches.
Chris Nelson earned an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 35-pound weight throw, tossing the weight 17.42 meters. Nelson finished fourth in the event.
Kirkland (7.37m) and Steve Waithe (7.03m) both earned NCAA provisional qualifiers in the long jump as they finished first and third, respectively. Waithe took home the triple jump title, earning an NCAA provisional qualifier with a 15.25-meter jump.
Austin Strine finished second in the Heptathlon.
This was the Raiders sixth PSAC championship. The NCAA Championship meet will be held March 8–9 in Birmingham, Ala.
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