Men's Track and Field Sets Three New School Records
Three school records were broken by the Penn State Behrend men’s track and field team Saturday on the second day of the Cortland Classic Invitational. Dylan Buffington, Mitchell Obenrader and Matthew Grafton (Worthington, PA/Kittanning) all set new school marks.
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Three school records were broken by the Penn State Behrend men's track and field team Saturday on the second day of the Cortland Classic Invitational. Dylan Buffington, (Brookville, PA/Brookville) Mitchell Obenrader (Fryburg, PA/North Clarion) and Matthew Grafton (Worthington, PA/Kittanning) all set new school marks.
Buffington took second place in the 800m run and broke the school record sprinting a time of 1:54.64. Buffington's effort also qualified him for ECAC's.
Obenrader set a new school mark in the shot put. His mark of 50'4.5" notched the new school record and qualified for ECAC's. Obenrader also turned up a third place finish in the discus throw with a heave of 143'0". This was also an ECAC qualifying throw.
The Lions notched five separate ECAC qualifying performances on the day including a strong effort from the 4x800m relay squad. Buffington, Devin Beggs, (Franklin, PA/Franklin) Alan Yocca (Plum, PA/Plum) and Josh Natalie (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy-Strong Vincent) recorded a first place finish running a time of 7:58.73.
Kevin Gardner (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) added an ECAC qualification in the high jump posting a jump of 6'4". Gardner finished in third place in the event.
In the decathlon, Grafton became the all-time program leader earning 5,743 points. In five events Saturday, Grafton notched first, third, ninth, eleventh and fifteenth place finishes.
Grafton's victory came in the 1,500m run. He ran a time of 4:38.83. His time of 15.82 in the 110m hurdles was good for third place, while Grafton's discus throw of 87'10" earned ninth place. In the javelin throw he took eleventh place recording a toss of 110'4". Grafton took fifteenth place in the pole vault with a mark of 7'4.5".
In total Behrend broke four school records at the Cortland Classic and had six ECAC qualifying performances. The Lions will look to keep their momentum rolling next Saturday as they host the Penn State Behrend Invitational. Saturday's events will start at 10 a.m.