HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Ursinus College track and field teams turned in a fantastic effort in their final tune-up for next week's Centennial Conference championship, coming home from Haverford's Keogh Invitational with a dozen new personal records and three individual victories.
Freshman Andre Kelly, sophomore Brittany Gasser, and junior Adam Myers were the first-place finishers for the Bears. Kelly won the 400 in a personal-best 51.39, an even more impressive result considering he topped Haverford's Liam Lynch, the defending CC champion in the event. Fellow freshman Codi Yhap turned in a 51.83 for an indoor PR and a tie for fourth place, and rookie Brody Johnson accomplished a new personal record with a 55.44.
Myers won the shot put with a toss of 44-3.50. Freshman Carlo Telesco netted a new personal best of 38-4.00, as did freshman Sophia Simoes; her heave of 36-8.50 moved her into eighth on the conference performance list.
Gasser was the individual champion in the 400, clocking a 1:02.27 to edge Widener's Aishah Dukes. Gasser's time, an indoor PR, is good for eighth in the conference. Juniors Katherine Damato (1:02.82) and Jenna Kelly (1:03.12) also reached indoor personal records, and freshman Catherine Curran qualified for the CC championship with a 1:05.73.
Junior Mitchell Kelly logged an indoor PR in the 800 (2:04.44), placing eighth overall, and sophomore Andrew Voyack finished 14th (2:07.42). Junior Joseph Iuliucci's 4:40.86 in the mile was a new indoor personal best.
Freshman Austin Bittenbender posted a collegiate best mark of 9-2.25 in the pole vault. Sophomore Morgan Cope fell just shy of a personal best at 9-6.25.
Sophomore Caroline Buckley vaulted into sixth in CC with an indoor PR (33-2.00) in the triple jump. Buckley was one of four Bears in the top seven of the 60-meter hurdles – Damato (10.19) was fourth, freshman Kira Miller (10.22) was fifth, Buckley (10.30) took sixth, and junior Catherine Buczek (10.35) rounded out the Bear bunch in seventh.
The Bears now brace for the CC championship, which they will host next Saturday and Sunday.