HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's indoor track & field team began its 2019-20 season at home with the annual Haverford Holiday Meet on Saturday. The Fords finished third overall in the season opener, tallying 103 total points. Haverford notched event titles in the pole vault and long jump, with sophomore Ethan Gadra leading the pole vault field by matching a personal-best with a mark of 4.25 meters (13'-11.25") and first-year Alex Reichard topping the leaderboard in the long jump with a mark of 6.28 meters (20'-7.25"). The debut performance from Reichard was the 10th-best long jump performance in program history. In total, the Fords marked 11 top five finishes on the opening day of the season.
Gadra cleared 4.25 meters (13'-11.25") on his second progression, easily leading the field as he was the only entrant to attempt a jump of over four meters on the day. Reichard took his event title with a 6.28-meter (20'-7.25") long jump, which came on his first attempt. Ashton Smith then gradually worked his way to a fifth-place performance, topping out at 5.37 meters (17'-7.5") on his final jump attempt. Co-captain Cameron Albrechtnotched a 5.30m (17'-4.75") mark in his second jump for sixth place, while Cyrus Slavin (4.39m, 14'-5") and Dylan Kupetsky (3.72m - 12'-2.5") finished ninth and 10th, respectively. Slavin also represented Haverford in the shot put, taking a fifth-place finish with a mark of 8.89 meters (29'-2").
Reichard was the lone Haverford entrant in the 60-meter dash, crossing in 7.33 in his collegiate debut. The mark was also the 10th-best in Haverford program history, capping a standout day for the rookie. Kupetsky also competed in the sprints for Haverford, notching an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 28.65. Gene Perry impressed in the 400 meters, crossing in third with a time of 53.06. Perry was an honorable mention All-Centennial Conference selection a season ago in the distance, and scored six points for the Fords in his 2019-20 debut.
The men's mile was loaded with Haverford entrants as co-captain James Barker led the charge with a time of 4:39.49 for a second place overall finish. First-year Charlie Ferguson was third in 4:40.55, whileSimon Perales was fifth in 4:41.04. Scott Kaiser was sixth in 4:42.10, while Nico Tripeny crossed seventh in 4:44.22. Sam Ditkovsky notched an eighth-place finish with a personal best time of 4:46.33, and Kennedy Mutai rounded out the top 10 with a 4:51.16 performance in his collegiate debut.
In the 5,000 meters, Matt Katz crossed second in 15:48.32, with Jack Hunter the third-place finish in 16:03.02. Ryan O'Donnell was fifth in 16:43.49, while Jacob Gaba crossed in sixth (17:20.23).
In the high jump, Smith impressed in his collegiate debut, registering a jump of 1.65 meters (5'-5") for second place. Albrecht matched the 1.65-meter (5'-5") mark and was credited with a fourth place finish on a tiebreaker.
Haverford will now break for final exams and the winter holidays, returning to action on January 17, 2020 in the NYC Gotham Cup at the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island. Events are slated to begin at 2 p.m.