PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team came in second place out of four teams with a score of 177 at the Carnegie Mellon Quad Meet Saturday.
Grant Rodgers (Oil City, PA/Oil City) broke the Penn State Behrend school record and meet record in the 400m, placing first with a final time of 49.04. He also won the 200m dash with a time of 22.53, and ran a first place time of 44.05 in the 4x100 relay with Kurt Eberhardt (Gibsonia, PA/Hampton), Greg Graf (South Park, PA/South Park), and Jacob Marzka (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf). Rodgers's qualified him for the ECACs for each of the three winning events.
Eberhardt also qualified for the ECACs in the 100m run, crossing the finish line at 11.22. He took second in the 200m at a time of 22.58. Marzka also competed in the 100m dash, finishing fourth with a time of 12.05.
In the high jump, Braeden Smith (Erie, PA/Seneca) punched his ticket for the ECACs with a first-place finish at a height of 1.95m. Also in the field events, Kevin Stebick (Waterford, PA/Fort LaBoeuf) and Jack Georgetson (Aliquippa, PA/Hopewell) qualified for the ECACs in the pole vault, both jumping at a height of 3.93 for third and fifth place finishes, respectively.
Matt Michael (Erie, PA/Iroquois) threw a qualifying distance of 13.26m in the shot put for third, while also taking fifth in the hammer throw with a distance of 37.57. Ethan Rhodes (Wyalusing, PA/ Wyalusing) earned on a spot at the ECACs in the javelin, posting a distance of 47.33 for fifth place.
Jeremy Spricher (Beaver Falls, PA/Riverside) won the 400m hurdles, running an ECAC qualifying time of 58.84. In the 110 hurdles, Colby Tarr (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands) matched Spricher with an ECAC qualifying time, running a time of 16.39 for second place. Tarr ran the 400m as well, taking third at 1:01.88.
Also on the day, Devin Ross (Shenango, PA/Shenango) and Nick Coleman (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) recorded third and fourth place finishes in the 200m run, crossing the line at 23.34 and 23.47, respectively. Ross competed in the 400m run, earning third with a time of 51.13. Graf finished just behind Ross in the 400m, taking fifth at 52.39.
In the 1500m run, Chris Drozynski (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview) placed fifth at 4:13.33, while Alex Kubala (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) took sixth with a time of 4:16.62.
Behrend's 'A' team, comprised of Coleman, Graf, Rodgers, and Eberhardt, placed second at a time of 3:31.42 in the 4x400 relay.
The Lions return to action track at Mount Union next Friday and Saturday for a two-day meet. Events start at 3 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
