Men’s Track and Field Win CSAC Championship

GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's track and field team combined for 282 points to win their third consecutive Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) title Sunday afternoon.

Both of the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays took the crown on Sunday. The 4x100 squad consisting of Kurt Eberhardt (Gibsonia, PA/Hampton), Jacob Marzka (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf), Greg Graf (South Park, PA/South Park), and Devin Ross (Shenango, PA/Shenango) edged Gwynedd Mercy by 19 seconds, crossing the line in 43.37, while Nick Coleman (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin), Ross, Josh Coleman (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin), and Graf set a new CSAC record with a winning time of 3:26.61.

In the 800 meter run, Jarrod Lipsey (Kersey, PA/St. Mary's Area) and Chris Drozynski (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview) took the top two times, finishing less than a half of a second behind each other. Lipsey won the race with an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifying time of 1:58.78, while Drozynski finished with a time of 1:58.89. Graf came in at sixth place with a final time of 2:03.24.

Ian Griffith (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) earned his second ECAC qualifying mark of the weekend with another second-place finish, this time in the 3000 meter steeplechase. He finished with a time of 9:59.53 while Michael Cross (Fairview, PA/Fairview) and Timothy Wheeler (Albion, PA/Northwestern) placed sixth and seventh. Cross finished with a time of 10:47.94 and Wheeler crossed the line at 11:05.05.

Graf and Ross posted ECAC qualifying marks in the 400m with second and third place finishes, respectively. Graf crossed at 50.07 and Ross finished at 50.39. Coleman joined them in the race, taking sixth with a time of 51.06.

Matt Michael (Erie, PA/Iroquois) and Braeden Smith (Erie, PA/Seneca) both competed well in the field events. Michael won the CSAC championship with his 13.31m toss in the shot put and also took first in the discus at 38.33 meters. Smith placed first in the high jump with a final leap of 2.00m (6'6.75") and sixth in the long jump with a jump of 6.07 meters.

In the 5000 meter run, Alex Kubala (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) and Zach Wortman (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic) scored for the Lions with third and fourth finishes. Kubala crossed at 16:23.48 and Wortman finished at 16:25.03.

Jack Georgetson (Aliquippa, PA/Hopewell), Kevin Stebick (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf), Kyle Grimm (Beaver, PA/Beaver Area), and Elijah Dangrow (Greenville, PA/Greenville) swept the top four finishes in the pole vault. Georgetson took first at 4.40m, Stebick and Grimm finished at second and third at 4.25m, and Dangrow closed it off with a fourth-place finish height of 4.10m. Georgetson also took second in the long jump with a leap of 6.33 meters.

Eberhardt placed fourth at 11.28 while Jonathan Wu (Acton, MA/Acton Boxborough) finished in eighth with a time of 11.71.

Jeremy Spricher (Beaver Falls, PA/Riverside), Eberhardt, and Colby Tarr (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands) all posted ECAC qualifying times in the 400m hurdles. Spricher led things off with a second-place finish at 57.09 while Eberhard and Tarr were just behind at fourth and fifth with times of 58.94 and 59.07, respectively. Cross finished in sixth at 1:00.85. Tarr also won the 110 meter hurdles with a 15.94.

In the 200m, Graf placed third, Eberhardt took fifth, and Coleman finished in eighth. Graf set the charge at 22.73, while Eberhardt and Coleman weren't far behind with times of 23.02 and 23.28, respectively.

The Lions will compete at the Allegheny Gator Invite on Friday beginning at 9 a.m.