STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Haverford College men's track & field team turned in a strong showing at the Fastrack National Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Complex on Friday afternoon, with a multitude of top 10 finishes helping to highlight the performance on Staten Island.
Fresh off a Centennial Conference Track Athlete of the Week award, Jamie Moreland proved to be a force yet again in the 800 meters, clocking a time of 1:53.89 for a very impressive second place finish at Ocean Breeze. The time is the best in the Centennial Conference so far this season and puts Moreland in a good position nationally with results still rolling in from across the national landscape. Moreland's time is just outside the top 10 in program history for the indoor distance. Jeffrey Allen finished 51st in the same event (2:01.57) while Scott Kaiser (2:04.51) and Reed Solomon (2:05.08) also contested the 800 meters for the Fords.
The Fords shined in the 5,000 meter invite, with Max Brelig crossing as the top Division III finisher in a time of 14:46.32. Peter Buckley (14:54.79) and Ryan Kredell (14:57.55) were fourth and fifth, respectively, and were also the second and third finishers from Division III. Miles Colescott crossed 10th (15:16.96) and Peter La Rochelle (15.22.01) was 12th to round out the Haverford contingent. Aaron Bratt took home the event title in the 5000 meter open race, clocking a finish of 15:29.85 Jacob Gaba crossed in 14th (16:12.42).
The invite mile grouping was paced by a seventh place finish from standout first year Reza Eshghi, as he clocked a time of 4:17.31 to easily best his previous personal record mark from last week's Colden Invitational. The time is a top five mark in the CC with results still expected to roll in throughout the weekend. Charlie Ferguson also took a top 10 finish, clocking a 4:19.52 while Nico Tripeny (4:25.34), Matthew Denton (4:31.62), Nathan Leighninger (4:31) and Matt Katz (4:33.91) also finished in the Top 50 as co-captain Katz marked his debut to the indoor circuit. Sammy Schindel was the fourth place finisher in the open heats, clocking a time of 4:34.90, while Michael Franco was just behind in fifth place, with a time of 4:35.73, while Evan Daniels crossed seventh in 4:36.59.
In the 3,000 meters, Luca Ponticello notched a 27th place finish with a time of 9:04.13, ahead of Ryan Quenemoen who crossed in 33rd (9:06.24).
Jonathan Hill was the top Haverford finisher in the 200 meters, finishing in 43rd place (23.13) while Ravi Eaton crossed 77th (23.70) while Amon-Ra Kamit (24.65) and Nathan Ma (25.76) rounded out the Haverford finishers. The 400 meter dash saw Jacob Foster compete for the Fords, logging a 53.67 for an 82nd place finish in a crowded field.
In field events, Haverford received a strong throw from Cyrus Slavin in the shot put, as the junior registered a distance of 10.31 meters (33 feet, 10 inches), good for a 39th place overall finish. Ravi Eaton finished 18th in the triple jump (12.34 meters or 40 feet, six inches) and 27th in the long jump, clearing 6.13 meters (20 feet, 1.5 inches), while Jacob Foster was 36th, clearing a mark of 5.96 meters (19 feet, 6.75 inches). Nathan Ma finished 52nd to round out the Haverford grouping (5.20 meters or 17 feet 0.76 inches).
The Fords will now transition to prep for the final home meet of the season, as the Keogh Invitational comes to Haverford's Alumni Field House on Saturday, February 19. The meet is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m and will serve as a final tune-up for the Ford before the Centennial Conference Championships, which are set for February 26-27 at Ursinus.