Behrend Men Bring Home Second Place at the Bill Van Horne Invitational
The men's and women's track and field team competed in the Bill Van Horne Invitational on March 28 at Wheeling Jesuit University. Both teams would have strong showings as the men's team would take second place and the women seventh. The Behrend men would be led by Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, PA/Indian Valley) who would win the men's high jump.
The men's and women's track and field team competed in the Bill Van Horne Invitational on March 28 at Wheeling Jesuit University. Both teams would have strong showings as the men's team would take second place and the women seventh.
The Behrend men would be led by Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, PA/Indian Valley) who would win the men's high jump. Hartzler would set a Behrend record on the way to the first place finish. Hartlzer's jump of 2.05 meters was also an ECAC qualifier as well as a NCAA provisional qualifier. Currently the jump of 2.05 meters is the second best jump in all of Division III. Also having a good meet was Eston Winn (Erie, PA/McDowell) who took second place in the pole vault. While the team of Doug Stevenson (Sharpsville, PA/Sharpsville), Phil Stuczynski (Girard, PA/Girard), Gregory Benscoter (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte), and Joe O'Connor (Pittsburgh, PA/Avonworth) would run an ECAC qualifying time in the 4x100 relay for a fifth place finish. Two men finished in the top three in the men's decathlon. Michael Stark (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) finished second while teammate Ronson Mazany (Ashville, NY/Panama Central) finished third. Both men gain enough points to qualify for the ECAC meet.
The Behrend women got great performances from a number of runners. Virginia Rodgers-Owens (Washington, DC/Dunbar) took second in the 100 meter dash. She would then team with Amanda Wherle (Rossiter, PA/Punxsutawney), Dana Turley (Sarver, PA/Freeport), and Jenna Fatica (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) in the 4x100 meter realy. The women would take fourth place and qualify for the ECAC meet. Fatica would also win the 800 meter run in 2:20.28 to set a new Behrend record. Brittany Wallace (Sharon, PA/Sharon) would also set a Behrend school record in the women's heptathlon finishing the meet with 1943 points.
The blue and white will be at the Washington and Jefferson meet on April 4 and then at the Slippery Rock Invitational a week later on April 11.