By Colin Fields
Writer
The men’s track and field squad was victorious this past weekend at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in its final home meet of the season. The Orange and Blue were victorious in 12 individual events on Saturday. Among the winners were Robert Arent ’12 and Justin Hicks ’13, who won three events each. The Bison throwers continued their success with four individual victories and several personal records.
The Bison dismantled the five other competitors at the challenge, finishing with 256 points, which was double the 128 points that second place Duquesne tallied. Lock Haven finished close behind Duquesne with 122 points.
Arent won handily in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line at 14.67 seconds, well ahead of the other runners, none of which finished in under 15 seconds. He continued his success by winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.09 seconds. Arent was a member of a victorious 4×400 relay that produced a victorious time of 3:18.20.
Hicks was also a member of the 4×400 team but picked up wins of his own in the 100 and 200 meters. In the 100, the sophomore squeaked out a victory in 11.02 seconds, just ahead of teammate Marlon Woods ’11. Hicks was also victorious in the 200 meters, where he won with 22.22.
The Bison throwers, who have been a huge part of the team’s success this season, were at it again Saturday and picked up four individual victories. Leonard Joseph ’13 set a personal record in the hammer throw with a toss of 193 feet, one inch. The toss earned him first place in the hammer throw and fifth place in school history. Luke Webster ’13 followed with a victory in the discus and his own personal record. Webster obliterated his previous personal record with a mark of 162-2, good for fourth in school history.
“The personal record felt great. It feels awesome when all the hard work from earlier in the year starts to pay off, especially heading into the championship portion of the season. The win was just icing on the cake,” Webster said.
Ted Heitzman ’12 also picked up a victory in the javelin with a mark of 228-5. He was joined by Quinten Marcott ’13 who won the shot-put at 50-11.5. Marcott and teammates Tom Barr ’12 and Zachary Shapiro ’11 completed a Bison sweep of the shot-put by taking the top three spots.
Robert Yamnicky ’13 and Drew Fitzgerald ’11 were the last of the 12 victors Saturday. Yamnicky picked up gold in the steeplechase and Fitzgerald picked up a win in the pole vault.
“The outdoor season is short, making every practice and competition very important. Personally, as a senior, each meet takes on a little more meaning and I hope to make the best of it and win another team championship,” Fitzgerald said.