GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – Personal bests abounded as the Ursinus College men's track and field team took on Gwynedd-Mercy's Mid-Week Twilight Invitational on Wednesday night, plenty of Bears rounding into form as the outdoor season picks up steam.
Sophomore Jequan Mitchell ran an impressive double in the sprints, placing eighth in the 200 (23.10) and sixth in the 400 with a collegiate best of 50.47 that currently places him third on the Centennial Conference performance list.
Sophomore Mitchell Kelly (2:04.57), freshman Dylan Ammons (2:06.00), and sophomore Connor Lent (2:06.63) all ran personal bests in the 800, finishing two seconds apart in sixth, eighth, and ninth, respectively. Kelly's mark was less than a tenth of a tick off the CC's qualifying standard.
Sophomore Joseph Iuliucci dominated the 5k with a personal best of 15:57.78. Paced the whole way by assistant coach Tyler Melius, Iuliucci outdistanced the rest of the field by nearly 37 seconds and became the first Ursinus man to break the 16-minute mark in the event since the 2012 indoor season.
The 5k was chock full of Bears, as freshman Andrew Voyack placed third in 16:35.04, just off his PR, and senior James Hartop followed closely behind in fourth with a PR of 16:40.04. Freshman Evan Cirafesi's personal best of 16:54.89 landed him fifth, and fellow first-year Jonny Cope finished seventh.
Senior Erich Keyser was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a finals time of 16.63 that was just off his season best of 16.48, which stands fifth in the conference. Classmate Skyler McCormick registered a 58.33 to place fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, a personal record that puts him sixth in the CC.
Sophomore Adam Myers turned in a pair of impressive performances in the field, finishing second in the shot put with a toss of 41-0.25 and landing ninth in the javelin, where his mark of 151-11 served as a season best. Junior Thomas Donnelly was right ahead of Myers with a 153-10.
Ursinus continues the outdoor season at Bucknell's Bison Outdoor Classic this weekend.