BETHLEHEM, PA – The Susquehanna men's track and field team used two victories and multiple placements near the top of the podium to lead after day one of the Landmark Championships with 67 points. Through six of 20 events, they stand 14 points ahead of second-place Elizabethtown, while 12 River Hawks qualified for finals across the 110-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles, and 200-meter hurdles. The championships are hosted by Moravian University's Timothy Breidegam Track.
The day began in the pole vault, where
Isaiah Blatt won the event at 4.76m. He opened at 4.45m, clearing the bar on his first attempt that won him the gold. Teammate
Thomas Stitt finished third at 3.85m as Susquehanna picked up 16 points.
Blatt carried his momentum over to the javelin. Joining forces with
Tim Kizis, the two took the podium at fifth and sixth for seven more points. Kizis placed fifth at 47.41m, while Blatt earned sixth at 46.77m.
The River Hawks occupied half of the podium spots with the long jump, with three in the top four led by
Joey Masser's silver finish at 7.15m.
Austin Hurrell took third at 6.75m, while
Bryce Ellinger earned fourth at 6.70m.
Benjamin Bulger placed sixth at 6.58m.
Over in the throws,
Tyler Hauk reached gold status in the discus with his final throw that stretched to 44.14m. First-year
Cole Goodwin took third when his second attempt landed at 40.70m.
Moving to the track later in the afternoon, TJ Grenda earned a sixth-place finish in the 1500 meters with a new PR time of 4:03.78, while
Declan Griffin picked up a pair of points with his seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters, clocking in at 36:21.93.
A total of 12 River Hawk dashers will see the finals after impressive preliminaries between the 110-meter hurdles, 100 meters, and 200 meters. Susquehanna will occupy six of the eight lanes in the 110H finals, led by Masser running for 14.98 in prelims, along with
Carter Smink's 15.00, Bulger's 15.44,
Ezra Miller's 15.62,
Rowan Smith's 16.06, and Matthew Masser's 16.34.
Brandon Zimmerman, Hurrell, and Blatt will run the 100 finals, where Zimmerman ran a personal-best 10.94, while Hurrell matched his PR at 11.13 and Blatt ran for 11.18. Zimmerman will also run the 200 finals, qualifying after a personal-best 22.51 time, while
Elliott Davis turned in a PR 22.22 for the best prelim time and
Ian Dyson posting a 22.86 mark.
The second and final day of the Landmark Outdoor Championships begins Sunday at 12:00 noon, starting with the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Maintaining a top finish after Sunday will lock up Susquehanna's third consecutive Landark outdoor title and fourth ever.
