Logo
Logo
Logo
Twitter   Facebook
Messiah Hosts Own Invite; Roach Tops Own Nation's Best In 800
Senior Patrick Roach bettered his nation-leading 800 time Friday at Princeton before winning the 200 and 400 Saturday at home.

Princeton, NJ/Grantham, PA — It was another exciting weekend within the Messiah track and field program, as the Falcons hosted their lone home outdoor meet of the season on a gorgeous Saturday following some thrilling results at the Princeton University Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational Friday afternoon.

Senior Patrick Roach and junior Kristen Bates headlined the activities, as both posted season-best marks among NCAA Division III competition.

Roach ran a school-record — and NCAA Division III season-best — 1:49.26 in the 800-meter run Friday afternoon at Princeton, bettering his former school-mark and top D-III national clip of 1:50.00 set at the season-opening Washington & Lee University-Virginia Military Carnival Mar. 28. Bates, meanwhile, finished the 100-meter hurdles in a time of :14.15 — setting a new school record and NCAA Division III season top mark while competing in the first event of the heptathlon at Messiah on Thursday.

Roach’s most recent 800 mark broke uncharted waters in the storied Messiah track and field program, as his sub-1:50 mark won the event at the Princeton Invite — defeating 54 other athletes from schools such as NCAA Division I Villanova University, Penn University, Army, Rutgers University, Georgetown University, Princeton and others.

Roach then returned back to the Messiah campus Saturday to win both the 200- and 400-meter dashes, finishing those events in :22.23 and :48.88, respectively.

After her national-best time in the 100-meter hurdles, Bates went on to win Messiah’s Thursday-Friday heptathlon with 4,423 points — the second highest-point total in the multi-event in the school’s history. That mark also qualified her for national competition, currently standing as the fourth-best mark in the nation at the NCAA Division III level.

Bates then returned Saturday morning to win the triple jump (she cleared 38 feet, 4 and ¾ inches), concluding a shortened day of competing.

And while Roach and Bates’ incredible results may have stolen the show, Messiah posted several other outstanding performances at its lone home outdoor meet of the year Saturday — an event greeted with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. Messiah’s women won the team title with 254 total points, while the men finished second overall (206 points) out of nine competing squads.

In addition to Bates’ wins in the heptathlon and triple jump, the Falcons’ women captured six other top finishes, led by a trifecta from senior Delilah Ruiz. The Mantua, New Jersey native captured first in the 100-meter hurdles (:15.67), the high jump (5 feet, 1 and ¾ inches) and the long jump (15 feet, 10 and ½ inches), replacing her own sixth-place mark in the program record books in the hurdles.

Freshman Lauren Harte claimed first in the 400-meter dash in a time of :62.14, while sophomore Grace Kaste finished first in Saturday’s 800 in a time of 2:18.86 — all after running the 800 in a 2:17.55 clip at Princeton Friday.

Freshman Courtney Long finished first in the 5,000-meter run in an 18:47.02 clip Saturday, while senior Jennifer Kooser led a one, two, three Messiah performance in the 10,000, finishing in 40:06.15. (Freshman Mary Higgins – 41:49.95 and junior Sarah Clemmer – 42.49.50 – followed closely behind.)

Sophomore Kaitlyn Valis moved up to third in the Messiah record books with her third-place, 3,502-point finish in the heptathlon Friday, also capturing points with a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s 200-meter dash (:27.19). Her 3,502 points was a lifetime best, as was her finishes in the event’s 200-meter dash, long jump and 800 run. Freshman Brooke Airey complemented Kaste’s top 800 finish with a second-place, 2:22.49 running Saturday, while junior Erin Rhodes claimed third overall in the 5,000 (19:05.82).

Sophomroe Ellamae Heisey finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of :17.18, while classmates Abbey Glenzel and Megan Sisson represented Messiah well in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second and fourth in times of :70.42 and :75.46, respectively.

Juniors Jackie Van Arsdale and Jenn Hellman led the Falcons in the steeplechase (12:05.84 and 12:43.37, respectively), while freshman Emily Brantner claimed second in the pole vault with a clearance of 9 feet even.

In additional field events, the Falcons were led by sophomore Emily Straight (sixth-place in shot put, 31 feet and one ½ inch), sophomore Alyssa Lengel (thrird place discus, 95 feet, 5 inches) and Brantner (sixth-place discus, 90 feet, 6 inches).

Lengel also finished second in the hammer throw (103 feet, 3 inches) and fifth in the javelin (95 feet, 9 inches), while Strait claimed sixth in the hammer (80 feet, 5 inches). Sophomore Emily Olson finished eighth in the javelin throw, with a toss of 79 feet, 1 inch.

On the men’s side, Roach’s wins highlighted six first-place efforts, while junior Peter Shenk (1:57.50) took Roach’s place and won the Saturday 800 (junior Eddy Palmer ran a 1:55.97 in Friday’s 800 at Princeton). Freshman Tyler Newhook (4:05.21) finished just ahead of Palmer (4:07.29) to win the 1,500-meter run, while sophomore Ryan Pastore (4:13.27) took fifth and senior Frank Eanes (4:15.67) sixth.

Eanes won the 5,000 in a time of 15:36.82, coming in ahead of Newhook, who finished second in 15:58.56. Junior Cory Kaufman then won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 10:12.23 — followed closely by junior Jeff Smeiles who finished second in 10:15.77. Junior Trevor Book finished third in 10:43.33.

Over Thursday and Friday afternoons, freshman Austin Holt finished third in the decathlon with a personal-record 4,912 points — a mark good enough for eighth on the school’s all-time record list.

In Saturday’s field events, the Messiah men were led a two, four, seven finish in the javelin, as junior AJ Smith (166 feet, 10 inches), sophomore Jared High (165 feet, 5 inches) and sophomore Landon Scholl (157 feet, 5 inches) led the way. Junior Matt Wicks finished fourth in the hammer throw (125 feet, 9 inches).

Sophomore Chris Boyd took home fourth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 9 and ¾ inches, complementing a third-place effort in the 800 (2:08.15). Messiah claimed third through seventh in the pole vault, while senior Jason Brown finished fourth in the triple jump (42 feet, 4 inches).

Other top marks on Saturday afternoon included a seventh-place finish from sophomore Jesse Weidemann in the 400 (:53.13), a second-place finish from freshman Daniel Herring in the 10,000 (36:29.37) and a fourth-place finish from sophomore Cody Rosenbarker in the 400 hurdles (:60.34). Freshman Rich Pennisi took fifth in that hurdles race (:62.20).

Messiah will return to the competitive track next week, taking part in both the historic Penn Relays and the Shippensburg Paul Kaiser Relays. Check the schedule page and click on the event link for detailed information regarding both locations.