Behrend Indoor Men’s Track & Field Earns AMCC/United East Title; Six Individual Champions Crowned

LANDOVER, Md. – The Penn State Behrend men's indoor track & field team had six individual champions and two relay team champions en route to its first ever AMCC/United East Indoor Men's Track & Field Championship.

Team Scores:

1.) Behrend 216.5
2.) St. Mary's (Md.) 121.5
3.) Alfred State 86
4.) Gallaudet 75
5.) Penn State Harrisburg 54
6.) Lancaster Bible 41
7.) Carlow 15

Noteworthy:

* Sophomore Alex Cotton (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch) was named Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, while head coach Greg Cooper nabbed Coach of the Year Honors

Key Moments:

* Senior Samuel Hetrick (New Bethlehem, PA/Redbank Valley) was the first individual champion crowned, jumping a distance of 6-1 ½ in the high jump. Derek Hillhouse (5-11 1/2) and Odis Florence (5-9 3/4) were also named All-United East, finishing second and third in this event
* Kody Klein (North East, PA/Cathedral Prep) won two gold medals with times of 2:01.95 and 4:27.97 in the 800m and the mile
* Along with Klein, Aidan Domencic (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) finished runner-up in the mile (4:28.80), while Nicolin Pierce (Erie, PA/McDowell) (2:02.43) and Aidan Reinsel (North East, PA/North East) (2:02.70) recorded second and third-place finishes for All-United East honors
* Freshman Odis Florence earned an individual championship with a personal-best time of 8.63 in the 60m hurdles, while fellow freshman Brandon Konieczki (Harborcreek, PA/Harbor Creek) scored 20-10 ½ in the long jump for a gold medal
* Cotton threw a personal best 50-8 ¾ in the shot put to earn individual champion honors, followed by Dan Dabrowksi's (Harborcreek, PA/Harbor Creek) runner-up score of 45-9
* The final individual champion for the Lions was Matthew Laslavic (Evans City, PA/Seneca Valley) with a season-best score of 41-4 ½ in the triple jump
* The 4x4 relay team of Hetrick, Jake Walden (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep), Klein, and Egizio ran a time of 3:32.04 for a gold medal, while the distance medley relay team of Reinsel, Dominic Marino (Girard, PA/Girard), Aiden Seeman (Edinboro, PA/General McLane), and Pierce earned a top of the podium time of 11:26.50
* In the 200m, freshman Jake Egizio (Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan) secured his first collegiate medal, crossing the finish in 22.69 for third place
* Bennett Kerr (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) tallied a silver medal in the 5000m (16:21.56) and bronze medal in the 3000m (9:30.32), while freshman Lucas Boyd (North East, PA/North East) ran his first podium time of 17:00.17 in the 5000m for third place
* Personal records were registered by Konieczki in the 60m (7.14), Emil George (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) in the 5000m, Ryan Visosky (Erie, PA/McDowell) in the shot put and weight throw (43-1/37-7 ¼), and Aiden Grieneisen in the shot put (40-6 ¼)

Up Next:

* Behrend will compete in the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Indoor Championships in Rochester, NY hosted by Nazareth on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Meet times are noon and 10 a.m.