SELINSGROVE, PA - The Susquehana University men's track and field team enjoyed another eventful home meet Saturday with their annual Valentine Invitational. At a time where many River Hawks have secured many top marks and regional qualifiers, the day offered another chance for the team to cement their Landmark-leading status in anticipation of the conference championships in two weeks. 

ON THE TRACK

• Derick Blair kept up his blistering pace in his distance running. He dominated the day-opening 5,000 meters with a time of 15:08.59, beating out his closest competition in Indiana (Pa.)'s Nathan Kociela by roughly 22 seconds.With his adjusted time of 14:58.96 he holds the 15th-fastest time in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region. 
• Thomas McGann placed third in the 5K at 15:53.34, while Hunter Valentino placed fourth at 16:15.30.
• In the 60-meter hurdles the trio of Carter Smink, Calder Diakite, and Rowan Smith qualified for the finals with respective times of 8.32, 8.34 and 8.86. The finals saw improved times as Smink placed first at 8.23, Diakite second at 8.34, and Smith sixth at 8.77. Smink's time is a season best and ranks third in the region. 
• The 60-meter dash saw Mason Winslow (7.10), Owen Nugent (7.15), and Dominic Santos (7.16) reach the finals. Santos finished fifth in the finals at 7.16 and Nugent sixth at 7.17.
• The men's mile saw a solid performance out of Evander Lackman, who placed seventh overall at 4:33.97. He also ran the 800 meters, running a time of 2:06.79. 
• Winslow won the 400 meters with a time of 50.76, while Henry Notarfrancesco placed eighth at 52.12. 
• Asa Alderman led the team in the 800 meters with a time of 2:06.30, the 15th-fastest in the race and the fastest time in his heat. 
• Owen Nugent and Nate Frankenfield finished third and fourth in the 200 meters with respective times of 22.92 and 23.19. Nugent's time marked a new best this winter and the 20th-best time in the region. 
• Three relay teams for Susquehanna competed in the 4x400, with all of them running in the first heat. The fastest of the three came from the team of Aidan Diglio, Rowan Smith, Calder Diakite, and Liam Messina, who ran 3:31.32 for third place. Henry Notarfrancesco, Nikolai Lulewich, Aaron Kolosowsky, and Carter Smink took fifth at 3:32.10, while Mason Winslow, Dominic Santos, Nate Frankenfield, and Ryan Sullivan ran 3:33.81. 

IN THE FIELD

• Hayden Durst placed fifth in the pole vault at 4.00m, clearing it on his second try after opening at 3.85m. 
• Rowan Smith took second in the high jump at 1.83m, clearing his opening height of 1.78m on his second try and getting over the 1.83m bar on his third try. 
• First-year Kieran Hennessy led the team in the shot put at 13.66m. Bradley Younce popped a season best at 13.12m. 
• Throwing phenom Cole Goodwin finished eighth in the shot put at 14.07m. Luke Westlake set a season best at 12.82m, as did Carter Reed at 12.47m. 
• Carter Smink set a new season best in the triple jump at 11.99m. Kyle Landry had the team's top mark in the event at 12.04m, as well as leading the team in the long jump at 5.77m. 

UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS

• Susquehanna has two weeks to prepared for the Landmark Conference Championships, which they are set to host again after a one-year layoff on Saturday, Feb. 28. Between now and then the River Hawks have have the Bucknell Bison Invitational on Friday, Feb. 20.