The Shippensburg University men’s track-and-field team once again split for two different competitions this weekend, notching multiple NCAA provisional qualifiers and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifiers along the way.

The George Mason Spring Invitational was held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Messiah Invitational was at Messiah College. Both halves of the team performed extremely well on both the field and the track.

At the Mason Invitational, the Raiders competed against Division I competition and held their own very well. Chris Craig continued his impressive season, increasing his lead at the top of the PSAC rankings in the 200-meter race. He finished first with a time of 21.18, good enough for an NCAA provisional qualifier.

Craig moved into fourth in the nation in the 200 after his performance in the event. Craig also tied for fifth in the 100-meters with a time of 10.82, which was a PSAC qualifying run.

The men’s 4x400 team also continued its hot streak, finishing fourth in the event. Ricky Meriwether, Kier Miner, Tim Usher and Calvin Dennis combined for a time of 3:19.74.

In the high jump, Tra-C Davis put on an impressive performance with a third-place finish with a jump of 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches. Jalen Ramsey finished just above Davis with a top jump of 6 feet, 9 1/2 inches to finish in first. Ramsey’s mark was an NCAA provisional qualifier.

Alec Rideout and Bryan Pearson returned to action and improved on their dominant performances in previous track meets. Pearson competed in the shot put, the discus and the hammer, while Rideout did not perform in the hammer. Rideout finished in fourth in the shot put with a mark of 55 feet, 11 3/4 inches. Pearson finished with a mark of 52 feet, 6 inches. Both throws were NCAA provisional marks.

Pearson continued with a third-place finish in the discus and Rideout finished sixth with NCAA provisional marks of 173 and 163 feet, respectively. Pearson was able to capture third place in the hammer with a PSAC qualifier of 168 feet, 7 inches.

At Messiah, there was a smaller number of Raiders, but they each put their best into their events. Derek Nothstein once again put up impressive numbers in the javelin, finishing first with an NCAA provisional mark of 206 feet, 4 inches. Ben Hurda was not far behind, breaking 200 feet for the first time in his career with an NCAA provisional throw of 202 feet, 1 inch, to finish second.

All of SU’s competitors in the javelin placed in the Top 8, including Jake Rohm, who took fourth with a throw of 182 feet, 8 inches. Adam Zeiders and Tommy Haas rounded out the field for the Raiders, finishing in fifth and eighth with marks of 172 feet, 11 inches, and 162 feet, 4 inches, respectively.

Caleb Bartlett returned to the field for the hammer and the shot put. He impressed once again, claiming first in the hammer with an NCAA provisional throw of 176 feet, 2 inches, and taking third in the shot with a throw of 45 feet, 3 inches. Bartlett’s shot distance was a new season-high for him.

On the track, Matt Gross took first in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4:03.42 and David Snyder finished third in 4:04.22. Michael Urban also placed first in the 5K with a time of 15:58.

SU will send its multis athletes to Kutztown University tomorrow and Thursday to compete in the Mondschein Multis. The whole team will be in action this weekend, starting Friday at the Bison Open at Bucknell University.

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