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Falcons Finalize Prep-Work For Messiah Invite At Muhlenberg
Junior Pat Roach had the fourth-fastest time of the meet in the 200-meter dash.

Allentown, PA — Serving as a final tune-up before the Messiah Invitational the following weekend, the Messiah College men’s and women’s track teams participated in the Muhlenberg College Invitational Saturday, taking a variety of top finishes.

The Falcons’ men were led by junior Pat Roach’s second-place effort in the 200-meter dash in a time of :22.50. His :11.16 clip in the 100-meter prelims was the fourth-fastest time of the meet.

Senior Mike Dell competed in a rigorous, eight-event afternoon in preparing for the decathlon event at this upcoming weekend’s Messiah Invitational, claiming eighth in the 200-meter dash (:23.35), fourth in the discus (127 feet, 1 inch), eighth in the shot put (39 feet, 11 and ¼ inches) and sixth in the long jump (20 feet, 4 and ¼ inches) — all with little rest in between.

Sophomore Eddy Palmer finished fifth in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:07.24, while junior Jason Brown set a new personal best in the triple jump, taking fifth place with a distance of 41 feet, 7 and ¾ inches. That mark bettered his previous record by an inch.

Sophomore Peter Shenk broke the two-minute barrier in the 800-meter race to finish seventh (1:59.42), while sophomore Cory Kauffman ran a 1:58.18 time to finish fourth overall.

Messiah head coach Dale Fogelsanger said that Shenk — along with other relay runners — will become very valuable for Messiah at its hosted invitational this weekend.

“We had many alternate legs pull through big on the relays this weekend,” Fogelsanger said. “Many stepped up big at this meet to give us a much better idea of how to enter the Messiah Invite this weekend.”

Messiah’s women were again highlighted by sophomore Kristen Bates, who won the 100-meter high hurdles in a time of :14.84, a season-best mark while hitting the NCAA National qualifying time for the second straight week. Bates also won the 400-meter hurdles event in a 1:04.88 clip — just .74 seconds shy of hitting the national qualifying mark. It was the first time Bates had competed in the 400-meter hurdles this spring.

Sophomore Erin Rhodes won the steeplechase event in a time of 12:10.12, a clip good enough for number six on the all-time Messiah record books. Senior Rachel Hepkins won the 800-meter dash in a time of 2:17.01, registering a :63 first split.

“Rachel went out really aggressively in an impressive 800-meter performance,” Fogelsanger said.

Messiah received personal bests from freshman Kaitlyn Valis in the long jump (third, 15 feet 7 and ¾ inches) while classmate Emily Straight set a new individual mark in the discus, finishing sixth with a throw of 102 feet, 9 inches.

Sophomore Bridget Nace moved up the Messiah Top 10 career list with an 84 feet, 7 inch performance in the hammer throw (ninth at the meet, seventh all-time in Messiah records), while junior Jennifer Kooser claimed third all-time status in the 5,000-meter run (17:45.08). Hepkins’ 800-meter run was the fourth-best time in Messiah history.

The squads will now prepare for their own invitational, set to begin Thursday afternoon. Click here for a detailed schedule of events during the three-day meet.