LANCASTER, Pa. – The Haverford College men's indoor track & field team won the distance medley relay and got an individual gold from Ethan Gadra in the pole vault to highlight day one of the Centennial Conference Championships at Franklin & Marshall. The Fords scored 32 points on the first day and currently sit in fourth place overall in the team standings.
Haverford's distance medley relay featured Jamie Moreland, Sam Ditkovsky, Hiro Kawakatsu, and Matt Katz. That team pushed the baton across the line in a time of 10:20.25 to beat Johns Hopkins by over two seconds and post the 16th fastest time in Division III this season. Haverford has now won the DMR at three straight Centennial Conference Indoor Championships and 19 times overall in the conference's 27-year history. All four of those individuals will earn first-team All-Centennial Conference accolades for their performance on Saturday.
Ethan Gadra broke his own school record in the pole vault as he cleared 4.47 meters (14'-8"). His highest clearance was 11 and three-quarter inches better than his closest conference competitor and broke his previous best set at the Keogh Invitational by three-quarters of an inch. Gadra is just the second Ford all-time to win the pole vault during the conference's indoor championship as he joins 2011 champion Edward Oh '11.
The Fords also collected significant points in the 5,000 meters with Sam McCalpin and Jack Hunter both finishing in the top eight. McCalpin secured a bronze medal with his time of 15:05.22 which will earn him honorable mention All-CC honors. Hunter was seventh overall with a time of 15:24.72. A total of seven Haverford runners entered the 5,000 meters, with Aaron Bratt (15:50.00), David Watt (15:53.51), and Max Brelig (15:59.02) all breaking the 16-minute mark to finish among the top 20.
Andrew Lummus was also an individual scorer for the Fords in the triple jump as he placed sixth with a leap of 12.83 meters (42'-1.25"). Lummus additionally anchored the 4x200 meter relay which placed eighth in a time of 1:37.57 and also featured Gadra, Alex Reichard, and Ashton Smith. Reichard began his day with the 60 meter dash, placing 14th in the qualifying heats with a time of 7.38 seconds. Cameron Albrecht also had a busy day for the Fords in the heptathlon. His is in fifth place overall with 1,989 points after four events on day one. His best event was the 60 meter dash where he scored 598 points with a time of 7.87 seconds.
The 2020 Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships will wrap up on Sunday. The second day of the championship meet will get underway at 11:30 a.m. and continue through the 4x400 relay which is slated for a 3:55 p.m. start. An awards ceremony will follow at the conclusion of all the events. Reichard will represent the Fords in the long jump as the first men's event to begin Sunday's action.