Tartans Perform Well at Bucknell Winter Classic

(WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's track and field team traveled to Eastern PA for the Bucknell Winter Classic at Bucknell University on Saturday, February 11. The team recorded several season-best marks and times in the unscored meet.

Sophomore Nathan Cheek (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) was sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 15.33 meters as junior Patrick Robinson (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) was eighth with a season-best mark of 15.02 meters. Sophomore Zachary Erra-Hernandez (Las Cruces, N.M./Onate) was 10th in the shot put with a mark of 14.08 meters.

Freshman Michael McDermott (Seekonk, Mass./La Salle Academy) tied for sixth in the high jump with a mark of 1.79 meters while senior Ryan Kissell (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) was ninth in the long jump with a leap of 6.36 meters.

Sophomore Josh Newby (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto), junior Billy Littlefield (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and senior Kyle Andrews (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) all performed season-bests in the 3,000-meter run. Newby placed sixth with a time of 8:40.49 while Littlefield was 10th with a time of 8:51.84 and Andrews placed 11th in 8:55.35.

Freshman Thomas Vandenberg (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) was third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.44 and sophomore Mike Standish (Washington, Pa./Trinity) finished eighth in 1:56.82. Both times were season-bests for the runners as they one-two in the University Athletic Association rankings.

Senior Rob Morhard (Eagleville, Pa./Methacton) placed eighth in the mile run with a time of 4:29.86 while junior Ben Nealy (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J./Egg Harbor Twp.) was 15th in the 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 52.77. Freshman Benjamin Walker (Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley) also set a season-best time in the 400-meter dash finishing 23rd in 55:06.

Sophomore Noel Titus (Bronx, N.Y./Choate Rosemary Hall) ran the 60-meter dash in 7.42 but did not qualify for the finals, he later finished 23rd in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.42.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Nealy, freshman Douglas O'Connell (Rye, N.Y./Fordham Prep), Standish and Vandenberg closed the meet with a fourth-place finish in a time of 3:29.07.

The team will be in action again next weekend when they perform at Kent State University as a tune-up for the University Athletic Association Championships on February 24-26 in New York, N.Y.