CHESTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's track and field team racked up a litany of new personal records in less-than-ideal conditions on the second and final day of the Widener Invitational on Saturday, battling steady rains to post another strong outdoor showing.
Senior Patrick Mekongo lowered his Centennial Conference-leading 200-meter dash time to 22.53 seconds, good for fifth overall and .16 ticks ahead of Johns Hopkins' top entrant. Freshman Codi Yhap jumped to 12th in the conference with a collegiate-best 23.25, with junior Jequan Mitchell (23.46) and freshmen Austin Bittenbender (23.70) and Brody Johnson (23.76) all running season lows.
The grouping of junior Jequan Mitchell, Yhap, junior Jamie Casseus, and Mekongo logged the second-best time in the Centennial Conference this season with a 43.31 in the 4x100-meter relay.
Freshman James McDaid broke the 2-minute barrier in the 800-meter run for the first time, crossing the line in 1:58.15 to win his section, finish 22nd overall, and move into the top 15 in the conference. Fellow rookie John DeLia trimmed nearly six seconds off his personal record with a mark of 2:08.18, and two more freshmen – Craig Lauer (2:08.94) and Josef Klausner (2:09.76) also recorded new collegiate bests.
Sophomore Jonny Cope outperformed his collegiate best in the 1500-meter run by more than three seconds with a 4:16.51. Senior Luke Schlegel's 4:30.01 was also a season benchmark.
Junior Adam Myers achieved a new outdoor best with a 46-6.00 in the shot put, placing third overall and standing fourth in the conference this season.
Freshman Carlo Telesco tacked on more than six feet to his discus best (131-11.25), and Myers also achieved a new benchmark at 129-10.00.
Freshman Matthew Gallagher registered a mark of 18-1.50 in the long jump, a half-inch more than his former personal standard.
Junior Mitchell Kelly placed 12th in the 400-meter hurdles (59.95).
The Bears will compete at the Penn Relays next week before the Centennial Conference Championships get underway on Friday, May 5.