The Shippensburg University men’s and women’s outdoor track-and-field teams were split this weekend at the College of William and Mary for the Colonial Relays, and at Millersville University for the Millersville Metrics.
The Colonial Relays kicked off with a bang for the Raiders, as senior Johnathan Stiles placed first in the 400-meter hurdles, running 52.13 seconds — the second-fastest time in all of NCAA Division II. The time was a new personal record for the senior.
Redshirt-junior Charles Bowman was close behind, taking second in the event with a time of 52.70. His performance places him ninth in the nation in the event. Bowman finished less than half a second behind his PR in the 400 hurdles. Both athletes earned NCAA-provisional qualifying times.
Stiles and Bowman competed on Saturday in the men’s 4x400 meter relay. The team successfully earned first in the meet in 3:10.85 with freshman Stiles, Aaron Arp Jr., sophomore Austin Padmore, and Bowman in the lineup. The finish satisfied the national-qualifying standards in the event.
With this race the team grabbed an NCAA Division II provisional mark, just .33 seconds away from an automatic time and .42 seconds from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record previously set by SU in the 2014 national championships. This race puts the team at third in the nation at the DII level.
Bowman’s weekend was still not over, as he competed in the 110-meter hurdle championships. The consistent Raider continued his streak of impressive finishes, claiming fourth with a time of 14.38 seconds for another national qualifier — his third overall for the weekend.
Kate Matrisciano takes fifth in the shot put at Millersville for a PSAC-qualifying distance (12.69 meters).
At Millersville, junior Tommy Haas took second in the javelin with a top throw of 61.27 meters. The mark was a national qualifier. Freshman teammate Josh Herbster placed fifth with a distance of 54.32 meters, earning a conference-provisional mark.
Senior Abby Wagner took third for the Raiders at the Colonial Relays on Saturday with her 11.90-meter triple jump. It was yet another performance that earned NCAA-provisional status. Junior Zarria Williams also continued her impressive season at William and Mary with a first-place finish in the long jump. Her top distance of 5.60 meters was a PSAC-qualifying mark.
The majority of the women’s squad traveled to Millersville, as multiple Raiders had national and conference qualifiers.
Sophomore Bella Marchini took first in the 1500 meters with a PSAC-qualifying time of 4:53.25.
Senior Morgan DeFloria stood out once again in the javelin, reaching 44.51 meters on her top throw for another first-place finish. She met national standards for the third-straight meet to open the outdoor season.
The Raiders will next split up once again, as some will compete Thursday and Friday at Kutztown University for the Mondschein Multis. The rest of the team will travel to Bucknell University for the Bison Open.
Sports Editor Nate Powles contributed to this story.
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