Tartans Lead After First Day of UAA Outdoor Championships, Kiefel and Miller Win UAA Titles
(ST. LOUIS, Mo.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's track and field team competed at the first day of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Championships on Saturday hosted by Washington University in St. Louis. After the first day of competition, the Tartans are winning the meet with 78 points.
Senior Justin Kiefel (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown STEM Academy) broke his own the school record in the long jump with a leap of 7.55 meters to win the UAA title. His previous record was 7.54 meters set last season. Senior Varun Narayan (Princeton, N.J. / Princeton) took third with a mark of 7.24 meters while sophomore Thomas Rich (Rochester, N.Y. / Brighton) and junior Alex Halkias (Berlin, Conn. / Berlin) placed fourth and fifth with jumps of 7.07 and 7.03 meters, respectively. All three marks are career-best jumps for Narayan, Rich and Halkias.
Graduate student Bram Miller (Colgate, Wis. / Kettle Moraine Lutheran) won the UAA title in the shot put with a mark of 17.01 meters. Junior Bailey O'Malley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) claimed the fourth spot after a toss of 13.79 meters.
The hammer throw saw freshman Cody Breidenbach (Nazareth, Pa. / Nazareth Area) take second with a mark of 52.22 meters while freshman Casey Potrebic (Calistoga, Calif. / Justin-Siena) placed fourth in the javelin with a throw of 48.16 meters. Potrebic also placed sixth in the pole vault after clearing the bar 4.15 meters.
On the track, junior Elijah Sech (San Clemente, Calif. / San Clemente) and sophomore David Durdaller (Hewlett, N.Y. / George W. Hewlett) placed fourth and fifth in the steeplechase with times of 9:18.76 and 9:21.28, respectively. Freshman Matthew Coyle (Park / Maine South) finished sixth in the 10,000-meter run after crossing in 32:33.71.
The final day of the championships will begin with field events at 10:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, April 24.
Advanced to finals:
110-Meter Hurdles
Thomas Rich - 15.77
400-Meter Run
Michael Cai - 50.59
100-Meter Dash
Alex Halkias - 10.81
800-Meter Run
Alex Ivanov - 1:59.18
400-Meter Hurdles
Andrew McGovern - 55.40
Grant Johnson - 55.30
Thomas Rich - 55.91
200-Meter Dash
Alex Halkias - 21.33 - school record