LANCASTER, Pa. – Just a few days before the start of the new campaign, the Ursinus College men's track and field team was picked fifth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll for the indoor edition.
Six-time defending champion Johns Hopkins was a unanimous favorite with eight first-place votes and 64 points, while Haverford received the Blue Jays' first-place ballot and 56 points to place second. Swarthmore (46 points) and Dickinson (45) were neck and neck in third and fourth, respectively, followed by Ursinus (30), Gettysburg (29), and Muhlenberg (29) in a tight pack. Franklin & Marshall (14) and McDaniel (11) rounded out the projections.
The Bears have moved up a spot in each of the last two years at the conference championship, placing sixth a season ago, and hope to continue to climb the CC ladder behind a strong mix of returners and newcomers.
Ursinus brings back a bevy of conference place-winners to the fold, including several who expect to contend for medals. Junior Codi Yhap was fourth in the long jump, sixth in the triple jump, and seventh in the 200-meter dash at last year's meet, and classmate Andre Kelly placed fifth in the 400. Junior James McDaid took fifth place in the 800, and all three were part of the fourth-place 4x400-meter relay grouping. Yhap and Kelly were also part of the 4x200-meter relay squad that captured a silver medal, a unit that also featured junior Austin Bittenbender.
Sophomore Griffin McMann (10th) and junior Carlo Telesco (12th) each finished in the top-12 in the shot put.
Head coach Carl Blickle also expects plenty of contributions from a large freshman class that includes 20 new Bears. The season gets underway Saturday at the Diplomat Open hosted by Franklin & Marshall.