COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's track and field team battled strong winds in hosting the annual Ursinus Outdoor Invitational, overcoming the elements to post three event victories in a well-rounded outdoor opener.
Junior James McDaid won the 1500 and placed second in the 800, while sophomore Mike Felix narrowly topped teammate Evan Giannetti in the javelin to go with a convincing win in the 4x400-meter relay.
McDaid's first distance offering of the outdoor campaign went much like a year ago, when he placed second in the 1500-meter run at this competition. This time, the junior would not be denied, taking top billing in 4:13.84, nearly the same clocking as a year ago (4:13.67).
Freshmen Marcos Maciel (4:21.67) and Ed Martinez (4:22.48) were neck and neck in taking fifth and sixth place, respectively, in their joint 1500 debut.
McDaid nearly made it a double dose of victory in the 800, clocking in at 2:05.50 for a second-place showing. Junior Andre Kelly was fourth in 2:06.55, and first-years Logan Yoquinto (2:06.85) and Maciel (2:07.49) also were among the top-8 finishers in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Reilly, Duncan-Taylor, Yoquinto, and Kelly put a nice bow on the Bears' lone home meet of the outdoor campaign with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing in 3:33.59 to outpace Wilmington by nearly five seconds.
Felix headlined a powerful opening statement by the Bears' javelin squad, edging out classmate Giannetti by one inch to win the event on a toss of 164-10. Junior Austin Bittenbender placed fifth at 160-4.00.
Freshman Zach Crebbin started his spring season in strong fashion, tying for the top mark by clearing an even 6 feet in the high jump. The rookie was even with two other athletes, but Justin Peace of Middlesex CC was grabbed first place by virtue of clearing the 1.83-meter height without a miss. Crebbin also stood out in the long jump, blowing past his previous PR by more than a foot with a leap of 20-9.00.
Bittenbender shaved almost an entire second off his PR in the 200-meter dash, sprinting across the line in 22.65 seconds to finish in fourth place. Freshman Tyler Reilly, fresh off a silver medal performance at the Centennial Conference indoor championship, registered a new personal best of his own with a 22.91. Fellow rookies Brandon Slaboda (24.02) and Tyree Williams-Jackson (24.18) also ran the fastest times of their careers.
Sophomore Griffin McMann finished fourth in the shot put (43-2.25) and fifth in the discus (120-4.00).
Sophomore George Psaradakis was close to his personal best with a 114-8.00 in the hammer throw, where freshman Nick Galbraith put up a mark of 100-4.00 in his event debut.
Galbraith was ninth in the shot put with a 38-10.50 and took seventh in the discus (103-6.00).