CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team competed in their first outdoor meet of the season on Saturday afternoon.
John Cerminara (Williamsburg, VA/Jamestown) led the Lions in the field events, bringing home a first, second, and a third. Cerminara won the discus throw with a distance of 43.18m. The senior took second in the shot put at 13.37m. Cerminara completed his day with a third place finish in the hammer throw at 37.88m.
Jeremy Tiedemann (Mt. Lebanon, PA/ Mt. Lebanon) and Seth Weible (Johnsonburg, PA/Johnsonburg) also competed in the hammer throw. The duo placed fifth and seventh, respectively. Tiedemann hit 33.85m with Weible at 28.78m. Weible competed in the discus throw as well, coming in sixth place with a distance of 36.15m.
Staying in the field, four Behrend athletes dominated the pole vault. Dylan Bilka (Seven Fields, PA/Seneca Valley) won the event at 4.30m. Garrett Shaw (Saxonburg, PA/ Knoch) was close behind in second at 4.15m. Chase Gehr (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley) took third after vaulting 3.85m. Anthony Paterno (Butler, PA/Butler) rounded out the participants with a fifth place finish at 3.85m.
In the long jump, Geoffrey Faltot (Mercer, PA/Mercer) was another Lions' winner. Faltot took first with a distance of 6.40m.
Weible and Joe Frederick (Bradford, PA/Bradford) placed seventh and eighth respectively in the javelin throw. Weible hit 43.32m while Frederick was close behind at 39.82m.
Back on the track, Behrend had strong performances in the relays. The squad of Andres Morales (Alajuela, Costa Rica/ICS), Kevin Lai (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), Kalil Slaughter (Sheffield, PA/Sheffield), and Faltot won the 4x100 with a time of 44.22. Lai then teamed up with Devin Beggs (Franklin, PA/Franklin), Matt McWilliams (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf), and Nick Marzka (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) for the 4x400m relay. The team placed second at 3:36.40.
Another team competed in the 4x400m relay and took third. Morales, Josh Natalie (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy), Patrick Shipton (Mercer, PA/Mercer), and Phil Martone (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) came in at 3:39.49.
Morales had solid performances in the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles as well. His time of 16.44 in the finals of the 110m hurdles was good enough for second place. He took fourth in the 400m hurdles at 59.92. Brian Lauff (McDonald, PA/Fort Cherry) competed alongside Morales and took third at 16.93.
Slaughter continued his day with the 100m dash and the 200m dash. Slaughter took second in the 100m with a time of 11.19 and first in the 200m at 22.68. Craig Webb (Johnstown, PA/Richland) took eighth in the 100m with a time of 11.62 and crossed the finish line at 23.67 in the 200m for sixth place. Faltot ran in the 100m dash and took 10th with a time of 11.68. Marzka also contended in the 200m, placing ninth at 24.07.
Freshman Tyler Yost (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) led the Lions in the steeplechase with a time of 10:35.59 for third place.
In the 1500m, McWilliams was the runner-up at 4:07.94. McWilliams had another second place finish in the 800m. The freshman finished with a time of 1:59.60. Two of his teammates place in the Top-10 too. Beggs took fourth at 2:03.46 with Martone placing 10th at 2:05.97.
Denis Lydon (Plum, PA/Plum) had a great day in the 5000m along with Josh Sibbald (Edinboro, PA/General McLane). Lydon took second with Sibbald in 10th. The duo had times of 15:35.68 and 17:56.02, respectively.
Rounding out the top Behrend performers was Jason Zabelsky (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) in the 10000m run. Zabelsky took ninth with a time of 34:54.34.
The Lions will be back in action on Saturday at the Washington and Jefferson Invitational.
