Men's Track & Field Looks Strong at NYC Invitational

Matt Katz
Matt Katz

NEW YORK, N.Y. -  In action for the second straight day, the Haverford College men's track & field team impressed at the NYC Division III Invitational on Friday, with a multitude of standout performances dotting the schedule at Armory Track. 

Matt Katz captured the event crown in the 3,000 meters, finishing in a career-best time of 8:34.01. Katz eclipsed his previous career indoor best by almost 22 seconds. The junior paced a field of 34 runners, pulling ahead of two Centennial foes as he edged second place finisher Matthew Kleiman of Johns Hopkins and third place finisher Jason Richwall of Muhlenberg for the title. Two weeks after establishing the top mile time in the Centennial at the NYC Gotham Cup, Katz now owns the top 3,000-meter run in the conference by more than three seconds.  Nico Tripeny finished 12th in 8:50.58, while Simon Perales was just behind in 13th, crossing in 8:51.05 as both runners established new personal bests. Conor Madden finished 29th overall in 9:25.44. 

Ryan Kredell picked up a scoring performance in the mile run, crossing the finish in a time of 4:21.14 for eighth place overall. The time is among the strongest in the Centennial this season, and Kredell will still have plenty of chances to improve on the performance heading into the final month of the regular season. Charlie Ferguson was the next Haverford runner to toe the finish, crossing in 11th with a collegiate-best time of 4:23.65. Scott Kaiser finished 28th in a personal-best 4:33.50, while Nick Scardigno rounded out the Haverford contingent in a collegiate-best 4:35.35. 

Jamie Moreland made his return to the track, as the sophomore finished third in the 800 meters in his first competition in nearly a calendar year, crossing the finish in 1:56.39. The time figures to be among the top 25 in the nation thus far as Moreland made his impact felt in his first outing of the indoor season. Sam Ditkovsky narrowly missed a sub-two minute time, finishing in 2:00.71 for a 19th place finish. Jeffrey Allen was right behind Ditkovsky in a personal-best 2:01.53, taking 20th place. Hiro Kawakatsu crossed in 22nd in 2:01.79. 

Haverford's distance medley relay squad of Jacob Gaba, Kawakatsu, Amos Karlsen and William Hillegas registered an 11th place showing in 11:20.04 while Gene Perry finished 12th in the 400 meter dash, clocking a time of 51.02. The time was just barely slower than his career-best 50.67 set at the 2018 edition of the NYC Invitational. Perry also competed in the 200 meters for Haverford, recording a 26th place finish in a career-best 23.76. Alex Reichard was 32nd, finishing in 23.98. 

In field events, Ethan Gadra took home a scoring mark of 4.11 meters (13'-5.75") in the pole vault, good for a fifth-place tie. Reichard finished just outside of the scoring as the first year took home an 11th place finish in the long jump, posting a mark of 6.25 meters (20'-6.25"). Andrew Lummus finished 27th in the triple jump, clearing 11.48 meters (37'-8"). 

Haverford will next be in action at the Tufts Cupid Challenge in Boston on February 8. Events are slated to begin at 10 a.m.