HAVERFORD, Pa. - Competing at home for the first time this indoor season, the 16th-ranked Haverford College Men's Track & Field team posted 10 top-10 finishes and a bevy of strong times and marks at the Seamus McElligott '91 Invitational inside Alumni Field House. Against a strong field of teams from throughout the region, the Fords set themselves up nicely as the indoor season reaches its final full month.
The day was perhaps highlighted by an event title from Reza Eshghi in the 3,000 meters. Eshghi paced the field in 8:31.98 as his stellar sophomore campaign continued with the sixth-best time in the CC this year. Matt Denton was the sixth to cross (8:41.92) with the 10th fastest time in the Centennial Conference this season, while Nico Tripeny was just behind Denton in seventh (8:46.31), and Jakob Maiwald (8:54.42) finished eighth. Just outside the top 10 placements was the tandem of Micah Lachman (11th, 9:02.96) and Sammy Schindel (16th, 9:09.92).
In the sprints, Alex Reichard was a standout in the 60 meters, posting his career-best time with a 7.23 in the event. The time rockets Reichard further up the all-time indoor performance list at Haverford, as that mark is now the third best in program history. The time was seventh in the event on Saturday, and is the sixth-fastest time in the Centennial Conference this season. Jonathan Hill marked his return to the varsity lineup with a 14th place finish (7.44). Vir Goyal (7.81), David Cole (7.86), Amon-Ra Kamit (7.91), Boahen Kwakye (8.07) and Kevin Villafane (8.27) all also finished within the top 30 sprinters on Saturday. Reichard also represented the Fords in the long jump, finishing seventh with a mark of 5.84 meters (19 feet, 2 inches).
A large 200-meter grouping was paced by Hill, as the junior finished 10th overall (24.05). Jacob Foster (24.60) was the 13th to cross while Goyal (25.18), Kinnan Abdalhamid (25.22), Kamit (26.64), Villafane (27.64), Matthew Ruiz (27.84), and Jonah Hoffman-Weitsman (28.15) also logged top 25 finishes.
Ravi Eaton was one of three 400-meter entrants for the Fords, as he took a sixth-place finish in 53.45. Leo Gordon (19th, 59.00) and Caesar Dai (20th, 59.03) also represented the Fords in the 400.
The 800 meters saw Flyn Meadows take fifth overall (2:04.59), while Nick Scardigno (2:09.27) and Sam Diaz (2:09.56) finished 14th and 15th, respectively. Deven Abrams logged a 19th place finish in 2:17.34.
A large mile grouping was paced by Reed Solomon's 19th place finish (4:39.79) while William Harris was just behind in 20th (4:39.82). Ryan Quenemoen crossed 28th (4:45.74) while Joseph De Rosa was 32nd (4:48.38). Season Park (4:58.38), Tommaso Wheeler (4:59.50), and Seamus Flannery (4:59.53) each cleared the five-minute mark, while Kieran McDonnell (5:02.65) and Xingyun Yang (5:16.98) rounded out the Haverford finishers in the top 50.
Rasaaq Shittu was the 15th place finisher in the shot put, throwing 10.48 meters (34 feet, 4.75 inches). Cyrus Slavin was just behind in 17th overall (10.46 meters or 34 feet, four inches). Tiger Wang was the 24th place thrower (8.49 meters or 27 feet, 10.25 inches) while Jonah Levine (8.43 meters or 27 feet, eight inches), Juan Miguel Pinto Diaz (8.27 meters or 27 feet, 1.75 inches), and Ethan Ezray (6.10 meters or 20 feet, 0.25 inches) rounded out the Haverford contingent.
In Friday night's weight throw, Slavin was the top Haverford finisher, with a 19th place showing, tossing 11.48 meters (37 feet, eight inches). Just behind was Shittu in 26th, with a mark of 8.89 meters (29 feet, 2 inches). Pinto Diaz was the 28th place thrower with a distance of 8.53 meters (28 feet).
Closing out the day was Haverford's 4x400 meter relay squad, as the team finished 3:50.76 in the final event of Saturday afternoon.
Haverford now returns to action with a split squad weekend on the docket. A contingent of runners will head to the NYC Division III Invitational at the Armory in New York City on Friday evening, while a larger group will stay a bit closer to home, making a trip to Collegeville for the Frank Colden Invitational at Ursinus (10 a.m.).