Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's indoor track & field team begins the postseason on Saturday as the 2020 Centennial Conference Championships open up at Franklin & Marshall. Haverford has finished first or second at every indoor meet since the 1999 season.
The Fords have 15 entrants seeded in the top eight in their respective events, headlined by top-seeded Ethan Gadra in the pole vault as well as Jamie Moreland looking to be in a solid position to pull off an 800-meter and mile double, as he enters as the top seed in the mile and fourth seed in the 800 meters.
What to Watch For: Saturday
The first event to commence for the Fords will see co-captain Cameron Albrecht compete in the heptathlon, as that two-day gauntlet begins with the high jump at 11:15 a.m. The pole vault then kicks off at noon, with reigning Centennial Conference Field Athlete of the Week Gadra coming in strong after taking the program record in the event last Saturday (4.45 meters), wrapping up the top seed in the process. Other day one highlights for Haverford include the 5,000 meters at 2:15 p.m. Haverford will look to continue its strong run of distance-event mastery with co-captain Sam McCalpin leading a group of seven Haverford entrants in that race. McCalpin, seeded fourth, is joined by sixth seed Jack Hunter in the field of projected scorerrs.
The men's distance medley relay (3:15 p.m.) will be the penultimate event of the day, as Haverford will look to repeat its event crown from a season ago. Haverford's DMR is currently the third seed, as co-captain Hiro Kawkatsu returns from that winning relay a season ago. Haverford has developed a bit of a dynasty in the event, as the Fords have risen to the top of the DMR podium on 18 occasions in program history. The 4x200 meter squad will then compete in the final men's event of the day (3:40 p.m.), with that relay team (Ethan Gadra, Alex Reichard, Ashton Smith, Gene Perry) clocking a 1:35.93 for the third seed.
Watch to Watch For: Sunday
The men's mile (11:50 a.m.) will be a great chance for Haverford to pick up a bulk of points as Jamie Moreland is the top seed in the event (4:14.41), while Nathaniel Leighninger, James Barker, and Conor Madden are also just outside of the projected top eight scorers. The event could be a harbinger of good things to come on day two for the Fords, as the men's 400 is next to hit the track (12:25 p.m.). Gene Perry will contest that event for Haverford as the third seed (51.37).
Andrew Lummus is the eighth seed in the high jump (1:30 p.m.), before the 800 meters counts Moreland and Kawakatsu among its projected scorers (1:40 p.m.). Haverford will have another strong chance for scoring in the always highly competitive 3,000 meters (2:55 p.m.). Matt Katz headlines that grouping with the fourth seed (8:39.98), while Ryan Kredell is seeded fifth (8:41.02). Peter Buckley is just outside of the projected scorers, taking the ninth seed (8:43.40).
The relays once again close out action, with Haverford's 4x800-meter squad (3:35 p.m.) looking to follow up on a second-place finish from a season ago. Kawakatsu again figures to return to that grouping after the runner-up finish in 2019. The 4x400 meter is the final event of the championships (3:55 p.m.), with Haverford the fifth-seeded squad.
Live video and live results from all 19 events from both genders will be available throughout the weekend of competition. A full schedule of the 2020 Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships is also available through the Centennial Conference Championship Central.