Erra-Hernandez Breaks School Record in Weight Throw at Denison

(GRANVILLE, Ohio) - Senior Zachary Erra-Hernandez (Las Cruces, N.M./Onate) broke the school record in the weight throw as the Carnegie Mellon University men's track and field team finished second at the Denison University Bob Shannon Invitational on Saturday, February 8. The team compiled six first-place finishes for the day.

Erra-Hernandez went to work again in the shot put and weight throw, winning both events. His mark of 16.10m in the shot put was a season-high that he improved by .68m while he set the Denison Mitchell Fieldhouse record and the Carnegie Mellon school record in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 17.18m, crushing his previous season-best by 1.11m.

Junior Thomas Vandenberg (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) won the 400-meter dash in 49.32 and finished fifth in the 200-meter dash in 23.29. Senior Mike Standish (Washington, Pa./Trinity) earned points for the Tartans in the 400-meter dash, placing sixth in 53.53.

Freshman Owen Norley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) took first in the mile run in a season-best time of 4:25.46 as sophomore Marc-Daniel Julien (Skokie, Ill./Niles West) was sixth in 4:31.03 before senior Kenneth Murphy (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) won the 3,000-meter run, crossing the finish line in 8:47.17.

In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Matthew Sheh (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek) finished sixth in 8.94 as sophomore Ben Neiman (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L. Vandermeulen) finished seventh in the same time.

In the relays, Carnegie Mellon won the distance medley, finished second in the 4x400 and fourth in the 4x200. Freshman Curtis Watro (Audubon, Pa./Methacton), Standish, freshman Nathan Willis (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends' Central School) and senior Josh Newby (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) finished the distance medley in 10:41.84 as Julien, Standish, Norley and Vandenberg finished the 4x400 in 3:29.48.

The 4x200-meter relay team of junior Shane Copelin (New Orleans, La./Isidore Newman), senior Jerome Reano (Albuquerque, N.M./Saint Pius X), sophomore Zach Dell (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) and freshman Matthew Seifu (Silver Spring, Md./Sidwell Friends) finished in 1:38.43.

In other field events, freshman Kyle Weaver (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School) finished second in the pole vault, clearing 4.30m as sophomore Victor Yan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) cleared 3.70m for fifth place. Siefu finished third in the long jump, leaping 6.17m while sophomore Brandon Hoane (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Horace Greeley) was fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.54m. Senior Nathan Cheek (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) was third in the weight throw with a mark of 15.90m.

The Tartans will be in action again on Friday, February 21 when they travel to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State University Indoor Collegiate Meet.