ALLIANCE, Oh. – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team ran at The University of Mount Union this weekend, in the John Homon Invitational.
Braeden Smith (Erie, PA/Seneca) cleared a new outdoor best mark of 1.99m in the high jump, earning a first-place finish.
In the triple jump, Hunter Lee (Singlehouse, PA/Oswayo Valley) leaped a distance of 11.07m for second place. Jack Georgetson (Aliquippa, PA/Hopewell) and Kevin Stebick (Waterford, PA/Fort LaBoeuf) both competed in the pole vault, taking sixth and seventh places respectively. Both athletes finished at a height of 4.14m.
Behrend's 'A' team comprised of Graf, Rodgers, Devin Ross (Shenango, PA/Shenango), and Colton Barger (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) qualified for the ECACs in the 4x400m relay with a winning time of 3:24.02. Rodgers ran a sub 49 while Graf was under 51.
Grant Rodgers (Oil City, PA/Oil City) earned a third-place finish in the 400m dash while Greg Graf (South Park, PA/South Park) crossed the line in 10th. Rodgers finished with a time of 49.51, and Graf ran the race in 51.03. Rodgers also took 11th in the 200m run, finishing with a personal best time of 23.18.
Zach Wortman (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic) improved his ECAC seed with a time of 15:29.05 in the 5000m run, placing sixth.
In the 400m hurdles, Kurt Eberhardt (Gibsonia, PA/Hampton), Colby Tarr (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands), and Jeremy Spricher (Beaver Falls, PA/Riverside) each earned spots in the top 10. Eberhardt led the way with a seventh place finish and time of 59.49 while Tarr and Spricher ended one after another at eighth and ninth, running times of 1:00.74 and 1:00.85 respectively.
Jarrod Lipsey (Kersey, PA/St. Mary's Area) placed ninth in the 800m run with a time of 2:00.68. Chris Drozynski (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview) came in right after with an 11th place finish and time of 2:01.26. Ian Griffith (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) placed ninth in the 300m steeplechase with a time of 10:24.46.
On Friday, Matt Michael (Erie, PA/Iroquois) earned a 10th place finish in the hammer throw, tossing a distance of 36.92m. Also, Ethan Rhodes (Wyalusing, PA/ Wyalusing) took seventh in the javelin with a distance of 44.40m.
The Lions return to the track at Westminster Saturday with a 10 a.m. start.