Bates Leads Nation, Four More School Records At Dickinson Invite
Junior Kristen Bates posted the fastest 55-hurdle time in the nation Saturday, clocking a school-record :08.06.

Carlisle, PA — Junior Kristen Bates headlined yet another outstanding performance for the Messiah track and field program, as the Falcons women finished first overall and the men second at Saturday’s Dickinson College Valentine’s Day Invitational.

Bates set a new school record in the 55-meter hurdles, running a personal-best time of :08.06 — now the nation’s fastest time at the NCAA Division III level this season. Bates, who’s previous best was an :08.15 clocking set last year, defeated Frostburg State University’s Sumer Rohrs by just .01 of a second Saturday. A three-time national champion, Rohrs entered as the nation’s fastest 55-meter hurdler with an :08.09 top time, making her :08.07 run Saturday the nation’s second-best clip — after Bates’ ultra-quick :08.06.

Bates finished fourth in the 55-meterh hurdles at last year’s NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships and, by virtue of her time Saturday, assured herself a trip back to the national stage again this March.

That event was just the tip of the iceberg for Messiah on Saturday, however, as the Falcons captured 10 first-place finishes on the day while shattering a total of four school records — marking the fourth weekend of the season in which multiple program marks have fallen. Bates also set a new school best in the 55-meter dash, finishing third overall in a time of :07.47. (She held the previous mark of :07.52, set last year.) Sophomore Grace Kaste won the 600-meter run in a time of 1:40.74, breaking ’08 grad Rachel Hepkins’ mark of 1:43.04 set last year. Senior Patrick Roach also set a men’s program best in the 1,000-meter run, coasting to a first-place finish behind a 2:35.48 time — bettering Erik Blosser’s mark of 2:37.23 set in 2007.

There was no rest for Bates in between her 55-meter hurdles final and 55-meter dash, as the junior won the triple jump competition with a leap of 36 feet, 11 and ½ inches. That mark met the NCAA provisional qualifying standard, and currently ranks her 15th in the nation. (Bates finished as an All-American in the triple jump as well last year, finishing third overall.) In addition to her school-record performance in the 600, Kaste also finished second overall in the 400, running a :62.65.

Other top women’s results included a top finish from freshman Brooke Airey in the 800-meter run, as Airey won by over two seconds in a time of 2:24.78. A Messiah pack occupied second through fourth place in the 5,000-meter run, led by senior Jennifer Kooser’s time of 19:08.27. Junior Erin Rhodes was next in line posting a 19:17.08, while freshman Mary Higgins captured fourth in a 20:087.48 clip.

Senior Delilah Ruiz and sophomore Kaitlyn Valis also qualified for the finals in the 55-meter hurdles, finishing fifth and eighth, respectively. Ruiz ran a :09.14 while Valis posted a :09.47.

Messiah’s 4 X 200 relay team posted an impressive 1:53.71, winning that event, while the Falcons captured fourth through sixth in the long jump competition. Valis (fourth, 15 feet, 7 and ½ inches), Ruiz (fifth, 15 feet, 6 and ¾ inches) and junior Briana Eshleman (sixth, 15 feet, 5 and ½ inches) all finished within five centimeters of each other. Eshelman also collected three team points by finishing third in the triple jump, going a length of 32 feet, 9 and ¾ inches — her personal indoor best.

Messiah’s women finished with a total 124 points, the first of 15 scoring teams. Host Dickinson finished second with 84 points.

The Falcons’ men were led by Roach’s effort in the 1,000, though Messiah nearly had the rare double-school record set in that event as well. Junior Cory Kaufman finished second in a time of 2:37.56, just over three tenths of a second off Blosser’s 2007 mark. Sophomore Jesse Weidemann placed fourth in that race in a time of 2:41.27.

Junior Peter Shenk took first in the mile in a 4:27.06 clip, passing classmate Eddy Palmer on the last lap. Palmer finished in 4:28.74, as the tandem easily took first and second place. Shenk also finished fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:05.28. Roach, the school-record holder in the 800, was held out of the event to focus on the 1,000.

Messiah got other strong performances on the men’s side in the 5,000-meter race, as MAC Cross Country Rookie of the Year Tyler Newhook finished first in a time of 15:53.58. The freshman was flanked by junior Artie Black who finished second and freshman Matthew Herring, who took fourth.

Junior Ted Simmons continued to be a force in the jumps, winning the high jump competition (6 feet even) and finishing third in the triple jump (42 feet, 2 and ¼ inches). Senior Jason Brown finished fourth in the triple (41 feet, 7 and ¾ inches) and sixth in the long jump (19 feet, 4 and ¼ inches). Sophomore Christopher Boyd claimed third in the high jump, with a clearance of 5 feet, 10 inches.

The Falcons’ men finished second out of 16 scored teams with 103 total points. Dickinson finished first with 170 points, while Johns Hopkins University took third with 74 points.

Saturday’s festivities concluded with a rare Valentine’s Day treat, as teams were invited to take part in mixed relays. Messiah’s men’s-women’s distance medley relay team of Palmer, Airey, freshman Lauren Harte and Kaufman finished first among all entrants in a time of 11:28.72. Messiah’s 4 X 4 mixed relay teams also displayed some holiday love, finishing third and fifth overall.

The surging Messiah program will next travel to Susquehanna University next Saturday, as the team competes in the Susquehanna Open beginning at 10 a.m. That will be the last full-team event before the MAC Championships, set to take place Saturday, Feb. 28 at Lehigh University.