COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – For the first time in four years, Ursinus College track and field team will not serve as the host of the Centennial Conference indoor track and field championships. For their part, the men hope a shift in location spells a return to the form they displayed when the meet first came to Collegeville in 2016.
The Bears finished third that season, their second time in the top-four since 2011, when they were runners-up. After placing seventh and sixth, respectively, at the last two indoor meets, Ursinus is tracking toward a sizeable improvement as the indoor championships head to Franklin & Marshall for a two-day weekend showcase beginning Saturday morning.
A preview of the conference meet, broken down by each day's scheduled events:
Saturday, February 23
The Bears have a good chance to start the championships with a significant point-scoring opportunity, as freshman Nick Galbraith comes in seeded third in the weight throw with a top mark of 39-9.25. Sophomore George Psaradakis (35-0.50) may not contend for a medal but is seeded sixth, comfortably in potential scoring position.
Junior Brody Johnson will represent the Bears in the heptathlon, which consists of just a seven-man field and includes the long jump, shot put, and high jump on Saturday.
Freshman Kenyon Sprankle will compete in the pole vault, where he is seeded 17th and will hope to unload a big PR.
Freshman Octavious Carter is seeded fourth in the 60-meter dash with a season-best clocking of 7.09. The rookie will chase a trio of Johns Hopkins sprinters for medal positioning, and Carter will also look to make a run at the indoor program record of 7.04 set by Jequan Mitchell at the 2016 CC championships. Fellow freshman Jose Morales (7.57) is seeded 17th.
Sophomore Zack Beavers is pegged ninth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.33), needing to pass just one competitor to earn a place and jump into scoring range.
The distance medley relay unit is seeded second (10:53.44) behind only Johns Hopkins, a major chance to rack up some points. The 4x200-meter relay group does not have a seed time, but the Bears finished second in this event a year ago, with juniors Andre Kelly and Austin Bittenbender back from that quartet.
Sunday, February 24
The Bears did not have a single high jump entrant at last year's indoor championships, but enter the 2019 edition with hopes of a medal with freshman Zachary Crebbin in the fold. Crebbin's PR of 6-3.25 is good for fourth on the conference performance list, less than three inches out of second.
Sophomore Griffin McMann is expected to contend for a medal in the shot put; he finished 10th last season but comes in as the third seed with a season best of 47-10.5. Galbraith is seeded 10th at 38-2.
Junior James McDaid, who already established a new school record in the mile earlier in the season, is seeded 10th in the event with a top mark of 4:28.75, less than three seconds out of seventh. Sophomore Kyle Berardi (4:40.58) is 16th.
The 400-meter dash looms as a treasure trove of points for Ursinus, which brings four of the top nine entrants to the championships. Freshman Bradley Duncan-Taylor (52.10) is third, while Kelly (52.22) is right behind in fourth after placing fifth at last year's meet. Bittenbender (52.78) is sixth, and freshman Brandon Slaboda (53.34) sits ninth.
After finals in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles comes the 800, where the Bears will be represented by senior Jonny Cope (17th), Berardi (18th), senior Andrew Voyack (24th), and freshman Jesse Wun (28th).
Bittenbender will look to earn a place in the long jump, where is he seeded sixth with a top mark of 21-8.25; Crebbin is 13th at 19-6.75.
Carter (23.19) and freshman Tyler Reilly (23.57) are seeded third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash, another big scoring chance for Ursinus.
The Bears have the second-fastest seed time in the 4x800-meter relay and are third in the 4x400-meter relay, where they just missed a medal in fourth place last season.