Shippensburg University’s indoor track and field teams competed at the Bison Open & Multi at Bucknell University this past weekend, with the athletes winning six events and earning 24 qualifiers for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships.
The two-day event began on Friday, when the men’s distance relay team of sophomore Tommy Crum Jr., junior Chase Hensinger, senior Robbie Hrabosky II and graduate Ian Sherlock combined for a time of 9 minutes, 59.73 seconds. The time was good enough to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division II championships. The team will look to improve that mark in later meets, likely needing a 9:45 to qualify.
Two of the distance medley runners also earned individual event wins on Saturday, with Sherlock pacing the 800-meter at 1:55.64 to qualify for the PSACs. Crum placed first in the 3K at 8:28.75, the fastest time for any PSAC runner in that event this season. Sophomore Jak Kearney was the remaining winner on the men’s side, taking the long jump with a season-best effort of 22 feet, 7 inches.
Other notable performances on the men’s team included freshman Colin Melhorn placing fourth in the shot put and qualifying for PSACs at 48-5 1/4 inches. Freshman Jae Galloway finished fourth in the 60-meter dash at 7.05 seconds to qualify as well.
The women’s team earned a pair of wins in the event, one on the track and one in the field. The Raiders took first place in the 4x400 relay at 4:07.62 with the team of juniors Alyssa Wert, Madison Malcolm and Melanie Barger and sophomore Addalynn Brower. The other win was from Allyson Richwine, victorious in the high jump at 5-4 1/5.
The team also notched several personal bests, including senior Victoria Mattioli placing third in the 3K at 10:30.38, qualifying for PSACs. Freshman Anne Gardner placed third in the triple jump at 36-7 1/2, and junior Lauren Bellows placed fourth in the weight throw at 49-8 1/2.
Another pair of events are on tap for the indoor track and field teams this weekend, with the River Hawk Friday Night Showdown starting at 3 p.m. Friday at Susquehanna University, as well as the Sykes & Sabock Challenge starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at Penn State University.
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