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Distance Medley Relay Teams Highlight Weekend At PSU, Bucknell
Messiah's DMR teams were the story over the weekend, as (from left to right) Rhodes, Harte, Airey, Kaste set a new indoor school record as did Shenk, Melnick, Palmer and Newhook.

University Park, PA/Lewisburg, PA — NCAA Division I competition seemingly brought out the best in the Messiah track and field program this weekend, as the Falcons sent limited squads to both the Penn State University National Invitational and the Bucknell University Bison Open on Friday and Saturday.

Messiah’s distance medley relay teams were the story of the weekend, each setting new school records Friday night on Penn State’s Horace Ashenfelter hydraulic-banked track.

The women’s team of senior Erin Rhodes, sophomore Lauren Harte, sophomore Brooke Airey and junior Grace Kaste finished in a time of 12:11.31, breaking the foursome’s previous school record by over 14 seconds — a mark they set last season.

Friday’s pace was fast enough to eclipse the provisional NCAA national qualifying time, while the clip bettered performances by the University of Penn and Norfolk State University — as Messiah competed against the likes of Ohio State University, Georgetown University, the University of Connecticut and others.

On the men’s side, senior Peter Shenk, sophomore Drew Melnick, senior Eddy Palmer and sophomore Tyler Newhook finished the DMR in a school-record 10:10.31, just over three seconds off the provisional national qualifying time. That mark clipped last year’s season-best 10:15.03 — set by Newhook, then-sophomore Jesse Weidemann and then-senior Pat Roach — set at last season’s Bison Open.

The distance medley relay is comprised of four legs varying in length — 1,200 meters, 400-meters, 800 meters and a 1,600-meter anchor.

“It is awesome to see Messiah’s name out there nationally, and it’s awesome to compete against some of these bigger schools,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “It will likely take a better time for (the women’s DMR) team to make the cut for nationals, but this group will be running again, looking to better their time. The men’s time must be one of the best in the country, and they’ll be running again next week as well. It was just an awesome night for Messiah track and field.”

Awesome, it may have been, but Friday night’s DMR performances were only half of the story. Another small group of athletes competed at Bucknell’s Bison Open, turning in solid performances in their own right. Sophomore Andrew Springer ran a 40-second personal best in the 5k, finishing in 16:51, while senior Artie Black ran an impressive 15:41. senior Jeff Smeiles also set a personal record, finishing in 16:05.

Fans can check out both the men’s distance medley relay and women’s distance medley relay from Friday night’s Penn State Nationals on video at the highlighted links.

As if Friday’s results weren’t enough, Messiah put forth another astounding day Saturday, setting two more school records at the final day of competition at Bucknell. Melnick opened the day with a personal-best :7.42 in the 60-meter dash, a mark he followed with a second-place finish in the 500-meter run — finishing that event in :67.56.

That clip erased a 19-year old record, as Melnick replaced Shawn Mumma’s :68.6 hand time, set in 1991.

It was the third-oldest indoor school record for the men’s program.

On the women’s side, Kaste won the 1,000-meter run in a time of 3:00.89, her lifetime best and another school record. Kaste’s pace bettered that of Amy Henry’s 3:01.8 hand time set in 1994 — a 16-year old mark.

Kaste was flanked by Airey (3:08.24) and Rhodes (3:10.42) in Saturday’s 1,000, all three setting personal best times.

Also at Bucknell, freshman Aaron Reynolds won his mile heat wire-to-wire in 4:37.44, a collegiate personal record that qualifies him for both the indoor and outdoor MAC Championships. Freshman Jessica Dillner also won her mile heat in a lifetime personal best 5:33.41, also leading start to finish.

In the end, however, it was Palmer who claimed the overall title in the mile race, winning in last-lap, dramatic fashion. Palmer’s time of 4:21.60 was another lifetime personal best, capping a truly remarkable weekend for the York, Pa. native.

Matt Smith and Harte also ran in the men’s and women’s 400-meter dashes Saturday. Smith finished in :56.06 and Harte in :62.21 to round off Messiah’s performances on the day.

Earlier in the week, a small collection of athletes competed at the Ursinus College Pentathlon Competition. Freshman Rachel Bjorkman led the way on the women’s side, finishing an impressive fifth out of 21 athletes with 2,487 points — her first-ever collegiate pentathlon. Bjorkman excelled in the long jump, finishing third, and in the 800-meter run, finishing second overall in a time of 2:39.43. Junior Kaitlyn Valis claimed 15th overall with a score of 2,198 points. Sophomore Ellamae Heisey finished 17th with 1,793.

On the men’s side, sophomore Rich Pennisi finished ninth ouf of 14 in his first collegiate pentathlon with a score of 2,311 points, charting a personal-best performance in the 55-meter hurdles.

The women’s indoor pentathlon consists of the 55-meter high hurdles, the high jump, the shot put, the long jump and the 800. The men’s event consists of the 55-meter high hurdles, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump and the 1,000-meter run. Official results from Wednesday’s Ursinus Pentathlon Competition have yet to be released.

Messiah will return to the track next weekend, as the program again gears up for the annual New Balance Collegiate meet, held at the Armory in New York City. Complete details of that event are available at the official website of the Armory Track.