Geneva, Ohio – James McDaid ran the fastest indoor mile in Ursinus College men's track and field history as part of a tremendous day for the Bears in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.
McDaid was part of a small contingent of athletes to make the trip to Geneva, Ohio for the Midwest Open hosted by SPIRE Institute and pulled off a sensational mile/800 double among some of the top track and field stars in the country. McDaid's time of 4:25.35 in the mile was nearly two seconds clear of the mark established by Jatin Narang in 2011. He also turned in a mark of 1:58.86 in the 800, good for seventh in the Centennial Conference.
Freshman Octavious Carter moved to fourth in the conference with a personal-best 7.09 in the 60-meter dash, enough to qualify for the finals. He also won his heat in the 200-meter dash with a blazing mark of 22.78, a PR that currently ranks second in the CC.
The Bears put together a robust set of 400-meter dash performances. Freshman Bradley Duncan-Taylor took over the top time in the CC with a 51.28, and senior Andre Kelly moved to second with a 51.39, tying an indoor PR. Freshman Tyler Reilly now ranks fourth in the conference with a personal-best 52.14 and came back later to run a PR of 23.30 in the 200-meter dash.
Freshman Zach Crebbin marked a personal best with a mark of 6-3.25 in the high jump, which stands fourth in the CC.
Back in the Keystone State, another group of Bears was competing in the Moravian Invitational hosted by Lehigh.
Sophomore Kyle Berardi led a trio of Ursinus runners in the mile, clocking in at 4:41.10 and narrowly missing out on a PR. Freshman Marcos Maciel succeeded in achieving a personal best at 4:45.39, and fellow rookie Jesse Wun was .20 seconds off his own individual standard with a 4:49.08.
Sophomore Griffin McMann placed 12th in the shot put (43-10).
Freshman Brandon Slaboda posted a PR of 56.00 seconds in the 400, and senior Jonny Cope's 9:57.20 in the 3-kilometer run was a PR by nearly 10 seconds.
Freshman Tyree Williams-Jackson logged a personal best in the 200-meter dash (24.56) and just missed a PR with a 7.71 in the 60-meter dash, while sophomore Zack Beavers was .02 ticks off his own personal best in the 60-meter hurdles (9.35).