MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team competed in the 11th annual Gator Invitational at Allegheny College Friday afternoon.
Matt McWilliams (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) and Mitchell Obenrader (Fryburg, PA/North Clarion) each broke their own school records during the meet. McWilliams broke his 1500m record by a second and a half with a new time of 3:51.35, good enough for second place. Obenrader bettered his discus record by nearly two feet to finish third with a distance of 159' 7".
McWilliams also took second in the 5000m run with a time of 15:14.80, while Obenrader brought home a second-place finish in the shot put and javelin. His shot put distance was 54' 3.75" and he tossed the javelin 185' 10". He currently ranks first, seventh and 17th in the nation in the javelin, shot put and discus respectively.
Finishing behind McWilliams in the 1500m was Josh Natalie (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent). He posted a third-place finish with a time of 3:53.79.
Cody Cornell (Conneaut Lake, PA/Conneaut Lake) and Dylan Buffington (Brookville, PA/Brookville) had a three-four finish in the 800. Cornell qualified for ECACs and joined McWilliams, Buffington and Natalie who had already punched their ticket earlier this season. Cornell ran a 1:54.38 and Buffington ran a 1:55.52 Friday.
Matthew Grafton (Worthington, PA/ Kittanning) qualified for the ECAC championships with a fourth-place finish in the 400m hurdles, posting a 55.46. Marcus Haesler (North East, PA/ North East) and Aaron Peters (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) each had fifth-place finishes. Haesler took fifth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 16.37 and Peters posted a 10:10.50 in the 3000m steeplechase, one spot ahead of Jarrod Lipsey (Kersey, PA/St. Mary's Area) who took sixth with a 10:10.65.
Luke Patten (West Middlesex, PA/West Middlesex) set a new career-best in the pole vault, raising 15' 11" and Kevin Gardner (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) took fifth in the high jump with a leap of 6' 2.25".
The Lions are back on the track when those qualified for the ECAC Championships compete Wednesday and Thursday in Westfield, MA.
