Track and field complete strong opening weekend in Lynchburg

Shippensburg University’s men’s and women’s track-and-field teams started their season off strong in their first events for the Dr. Jack Toms Alumni Invite in Lynchburg, Va.

Both teams started competing on Friday, as the men’s team captured nine PSAC qualifiers. In the 10k qualifier, all six Raiders qualified nearly simultaneously within a 0.14-second margin.

Junior Aiden Gonder stood out with his qualifying time of 32:51.32 seconds. For the 1500-meter competition, three Raiders captured PSAC qualifiers, led by an outstanding performance by freshman Tommy Crum Jr., who ran a 3:55.94.

Friday’s track-and-field outing featured two PSAC 10k qualifiers for the women’s team as Morgan Hess and Belle Weikert made the cut. Hess had a strong collegiate debut in the 10k with a time of 39:23.

PSAC qualifier Kelsey Hull ran a 4:46.14 in the 1,500 meters. Friday’s success prevailed as the javelin toss featured a first-place outing by freshman Hannah Cassner following a 142-8 ½ toss leading into Saturday’s competitions.

Saturday’s action was highlighted by three event victories and several PSAC qualifiers for the men’s team. Senior Ian Sherlock captured the 3,000-meter steeplechase victory at 9:16.34. Freshman Jak Kearney won the long jump championship with a 22-6 ¾ jump, and senior Joshua Herbster placed first in the hammer throw with a 203-10 3/4 toss.

The women’s team also captured multiple victories and added over 20 more PSAC qualifiers. Junior Leah Graybill had an excellent performance, placing first in the 100-meter dash at 12.07. Junior Aliyah Serrano won the 200-meter dash competition with a time of 25.24. Junior Caroline Mastria won the 400-meter dash, yielding a 57.20 outing.

Freshman Ashley Laukus and junior Sasha Lee won the high and long jump competitions, respectively. Shippensburg finished with a 1-2-3 outing in the high jump, with four PSAC qualifiers. Serrano, Graybill and juniors Sara McKean and Kayla Dalhouse captured the 4x1 relays.

After a successful start to the men’s and women's outdoor track-and-field season, action will resume Wednesday at York for the York College Twilight meet.