COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A year removed from its first top-three finish since 2011, the Ursinus College men's track and field team hopes to put up another strong performance when the Bears host the Centennial Conference indoor championship on Saturday and Sunday.
The Bears collected 66 team points in 2016, enough to edge fourth-place Gettysburg by a single point and finish behind only Johns Hopkins and Haverford, which have occupied the top two spots at the indoor meet for the last six years. With a bevy of returning place-winners and talented newcomers ready to contend for conference medals, Ursinus has its gaze fixed on another top-three showing. A primer of what to watch for:
Saturday, February 25
The Bears get a golden chance to earn big points right away, with sophomore Sam Pope set to defend his indoor crown in the triple jump, the first event of the meet. With a season high of 45-5.00, Pope owns the best mark in the CC this season, nearly three feet ahead of Swarthmore's Daniel Belkin (42-8.00). Gettysburg's Joseph Amadio (42-2.25), Muhlenberg's Cameron Ford (42-0.50), and Swarthmore's Benjamim Hejna (41-1.75) will factor in the medal mix.
Pope is aiming to become the second in team history to win multiple CC gold medals in the triple jump; Chris Rountree won in 2011 and 2013.
With no participants in the heptathlon or the 5,000-meter run, the only other event for Ursinus on the first day of competition is the distance medley relay.
Sunday, February 26
The championship meet really picks up on the final day. Following a bronze medal a year ago, junior Jequan Mitchell will go for gold in the 60-meter dash. Seeded third with a time of 7.10, Mitchell trails only Muhlenberg's Anthony Ware (6.92) and Johns Hopkins' Matthew Su (7.07). Last season, Mitchell broke a school record with a clocking of 7.04 at the conference meet, landing just .02 seconds out of first place.
Junior Adam Myers will challenge for a spot on the podium in the shot put, where he is seeded fourth at 46-3.50. Franklin & Marshall's Logan Lewis, who set a new conference and championship record in the event last year, is the top seed at 53-7.50. Swarthmore's Jared Hunt (47-7.00) and Dickinson's Devin Glasson (47-2.50) are the only others with higher marks this season than Myers.
Freshman Logan Mazullo will represent the Bears in the men's mile, where he is seeded 32nd with a time of 4:47.31.
Hopefully with a triple jump gold already in his possession, Pope will take his crack at the long jump. The sophomore is seeded third at 21-5.50, behind only Su (23-1.25) and Hopkins' Andrew Bartnett (21-6.25). Pope placed fourth in the long jump at last year's meet.
Freshman Austin Bittenbender joins Pope in the long jump and figures to be a medal contender, seeded fifth at 20-6.25. Fellow rookie Matthew Gallagher (20-1.75) is the 10th seed.
Ursinus has a pair of medal contenders in the 400-meter run, headlined by freshman Andre Kelly, who is seeded second at 51.39. Johns Hopkins' Jesse Poore (50.22) is the gold medal favorite, and defending champion Liam Lynch of Haverford is the third seed at 51.54. Bears freshman Codi Yhap is fourth at 51.83 and another first-year, Brody Johnson, is seeded 14th at 55.44.
Freshman Craig Lauer (2:09.54) and senior Dylan Ammons (2:09.65) are 23rd and 24th, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
Mitchell and Bittenbender will go for the Bears in the 200-meter dash, where Mitchell was a bronze medalist a year ago. At 23.37 seconds, he is the fourth seed this time around, with Bittenbender (23.60) close behind in seventh. Poore (22.75) and Blue Jays teammate Alexander Mollick (22.91) are the top two seeds, with Gettysburg's Collin Bergey (22.95) in third; Ware (23.40) is fifth and Su (23.41) sixth.
The Bears' 4x200-meter relay is the top seed at 1:33.85.
Ursinus junior Joseph Iuliucci is seeded 26th in the 3,000-meter run (9:07.65).
The meet will conclude with a pair of distance relays. The Bears' 4x400-meter unit is the top seed at 3:24.89 and figures to be challenged by Haverford (3:29.28) and Gettysburg (3:33.09). The men's 4x800-meter quartet expects to contend for a top-six finish.
For championship information, including schedule, performance lists, heat sheets, record book, live results and live video links, please visit the championship meet page here.