COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Two Kelly's, a pair of 200-meter dash qualifiers, and a new school record headlined Day 2 of the Centennial Conference outdoor championship for the Ursinus College men's track and field team.
Sophomore Andre Kelly and senior Mitchell Kelly – no relation – punched their tickets to the finals in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, respectively, while sophomore Codi Yhap and senior Jequan Mitchell matched the feat in the 200 for Ursinus, which collected nine points to conclude the proceedings in ninth place.
Andre Kelly was also involved in the 4x800-meter relay team, an all-sophomore squad that saw James McDaid open for John DeLia, Kelly, and John Haase. The quartet ended in eighth place at 8:05.84, eclipsing the previous program record of 8:09.90 established in 2010.
Yhap also placed in the long jump, taking sixth with a near-PR.
Andre Kelly picked a perfect time for a personal best, edging past Johns Hopkins' Zach Shelley by a nose to win the 400-meter dash prelims in 50.34. After a 10th-place finish at last year's outdoor meet, Kelly earned his first appearance in the 400 finals and will have a chance to become the fifth runner in Ursinus history to win outdoor gold in the event.
It was a Kelly kind of day for the Bears, as Mitchell was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (56.87) to easily qualify for tomorrow's final. Kelly's time was third-best in the prelims, behind only Shelley (55.95) and Muhlenberg's Kem Montina (56.09) in a battle of former and current contenders. Kelly won silver at last year's outdoor meet, with Shelley claiming bronze and Montina placing fourth. The defending champion, Grant Mosser of Hopkins, was third at 58.17, though his mark was actually sixth-best overall.
Yhap was two inches shy of a PR in the long jump, posting a mark of 20-9 to place sixth and get the Bears on the scoreboard. It was the first career individual place at the CC outdoor meet for Yhap, who was on a bronze medal relay a year ago.
Later in the day, Yhap punched his ticket to the 200-meter dash final by placing fourth with a big PR of 22.89. Mitchell joined Yhap with a 23.33, good for sixth. Mitchell is a 200 qualifier for the second time, having finished fifth in 2016, while Yhap will compete in the championship heat for the first time in his career.
Freshman Matt Thatcher and senior Connor Lent scored in the decathlon by placing sixth and seventh, respectively. The pair shined in the javelin, where Lent was second (149-11) and Thatcher third (141-2.00).
Freshman Griffin McMann tallied a huge PR in the discus, outperforming his previous standard by 14 full feet with a 132-8 on his second throw to finish 9th, one spot out of scoring range in his outdoor championship debut. Sophomore Carlo Telesco was 12th at an even 126 feet.
Freshman Zack Beavers knocked almost two seconds off his previous best in the 400 hurdles, finishing 10th in 1:01.15.
Sophomore Craig Lauer finished 11th in the steeplechase, just missing a PR with a time of 10:18.27.
McDaid wound up 11th in the 800 with a 1:59.51, more than three seconds better than his 15th-place clocking at last year's outdoor meet. Freshman Ian Steele netted a PR with a 2:03.12, crossing the line in 17th.
The championship concludes on Sunday, with action beginning at 11 a.m.
