ITHACA, N.Y. - The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team had an impressive showing Saturday at the Ithaca Invitational. The Lions had numerous top five finishes and all around had solid depth.

Dylan Buffington (Brookville, PA/Brookville) and Devin Beggs (Franklin, PA/Franklin) set the tone early in the mile run placing in third and fourth place, respectively. Buffington clocked in at 4:25.41 while Beggs finished on his teammates heels with a 4:26.91.

Buffington and Beggs also led Behrend in the 800 meter run. Buffington took 11th place running a 2:02.53 while Beggs took 15th with a 2:04.95.

In the 500 meter dash Josh Natalie (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy-Strong Vincent) led the Lions taking sixth place finishing with a time of 1:08.14. Jeromee Geibel (Butler, PA/Butler) provided a solid effort tallying a 1:11.43, good for 17th place.

Victor Kolbin (Westport, CT/Staples) won his section in the 1,000 meter dash finishing with a time of 2:45.52. Overall Kolbin placed ninth. Alan Yocca (Plum, PA/Plum) paced Behrend in the 3,000 meter run finishing in 12th place running a 9:16.72. Cody Cornell (Conneaut Lake, PA /Conneaut Lake) placed eight spots behind Yocca in 20th place. Cornell notched a time of 9:26.70.

Mitchell Obenrader (Fryburg, PA/North Clarion) took 11th in a field of 35 in the shot put competition. Obenrader posted a distance of 12.43m.

Pole Vaulters Luke Patten (West Middlesex, PA/West Middlesex) and Luke Aaron (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) had impressive outings. Patten and Aaron finished second and third respectively, both putting up distances of 4.35m.

Kevin Gardner (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) leaped his way to third place in the high jump. Gardner jumped a distance of 1.93m, good enough to qualify for ECAC competition.

Competing in the heptathlon Matthew Grafton (Worthington, PA/Kittanning) and Jake Wylie (Grove City, PA/Grove City) had impressive finishes for the Lions. First, in the 60 meter dash, Grafton tied for first place with a time of 7.33. In the long jump Grafton and Wylie finished sixth and seventh respectively. Grafton lunged 6.08m and Wylie reached for 6.02m. Grafton continued to earn fifth in the shot put with a distance of 9.46m.

Grafton sits at fifth place with 1,826 points in heptathlon at the end of the day and Wylie stands ninth with 1,523 points. Sunday features three events to determine the heptathlon winner including the 60 meter hurdles, pole vault and the 1,000 meter run.

The Lions return for the remaining action in Ithaca tomorrow. Following the second leg of the two-day event, Behrend will travel to Mount Union next Saturday. Start time is TBA.