Lions Dominate Kenyon Classic
The Penn State Behrend men’s track and field team won the Kenyon Classic on Saturday afternoon.
GAMBIER, Ohio – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team won the Kenyon Classic on Saturday afternoon.
With a team score of 143.50, the Lions won the meet by 25.50 points over second place Ohio Wesleyan.
Behrend had five individual winners and took home a first place in the 4x200m relay.
Leading the way for the Lions was freshman Kalil Slaughter (Sheffield, PA/Sheffield). Slaughter qualified for ECAC's in two individual competitions. He won the 60m dash with a time of 7.09 and took first in the 200m at 22.73. Slaughter also competed in the 4x200m relay with Kevin Lai (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), Dylan Beck (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch), and Geoffrey Faltot (Mercer, PA/Mercer). The squad won the event and set a new school record with a time of 1:34.47.
Faltot had an excellent day in individual competition as well. The junior took first in the long jump at 6.48m and placed ninth in the 200m at 24.01. Milt Sibanda (Jefferson, PA/Jefferson-Morgan) also participated in the long jump, taking sixth place with a distance of 5.98m.
Conor MacMannis (Stafford, VA/Kubeszki) was another individual winner for Behrend in the high jump. MacMannis leaped 1.93m to take home the top prize. Freshman Kevin Gardner (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) was close behind MacMannis in the high jump at 1.88m. Both performers have already qualified for the ECAC indoor meet. MacMannis placed fourth in the triple jump at 12.45m as well. Sibanda was fifth in the triple jump for the Lions at 12.37m.
Rounding out the individual victors was Dylan Bilka (Seven Fields, PA/Seneca Valley) in the pole vault. The sophomore vaulted 4.70m for first place. Also competing in the pole vault was Garrett Shaw (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch), Matthew Miller (South Park, PA/South Park), and Chase Gehr (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley). Shaw took second at 4.25m with Miller in fifth at 3.95m and Gehr tying for sixth at 3.80m.
The Lions had many other athletes place in the top-10. John Cerminara (Williamsburg, VA/Jamestown) took second in the shot put with a distance of 14.10m. In the 800m run, Matt McWilliams (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) placed second with a time of 2:00.58. Devin Beggs (Franklin, PA/Franklin) took eighth in the 800m at 2:03.73.
Jason Zabelsky (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) and Tyler Yost (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) had good times in the 5000m run. Zabelsky took fifth at 16:53.87 with Yost in seventh at 17:07.49.
In the 60m hurdles, Brian Lauff (McDonald, PA/Fort Cherry) brought home a third place with a time of 8.83. Denis Lydon (Plum, PA/Plum) also ran well in the 3000m, taking fifth at 9:06.71.
Three athletes had top-10 finishes in the 400m run. Nick Marzka (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) placed sixth, Jibreel Oliver (Silver Spring, MD/Georgetown Day School) took eighth, and Andres Morales (Alajuela, Costa Rica/ICS) finished in ninth. The trio had times of 53.39, 54.41, and 54.91, respectively.
Marzka and Oliver teamed up with Lai and McWilliams for the 4x400m relay. The four athletes took third with a time of 3:34.44. Concluding the top Behrend performers was Josh Natalie (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) in the one mile run. The freshman took 10th at 4:49.28.
The Lions will return to action on March 1st for the ECAC Indoor Championships.