BOSTON and COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Haverford College Men's Track & Field team had a busy Saturday of action to begin the 2024-25 season, competing in the Bow Tie Invitational at the Floy Lewis Bakes Center on the campus of Ursinus College, while senior standouts Reza Eshghi and Peter LaRochelle competed at the Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University.
Eshghi made a particularly strong season debut in Boston, opening his track season just two weeks after competing in the NCAA cross country championships. He posted an impressive 3,000-meter time of 8:11.09, finishing 65th overall. Eshghi was the top Division III finisher in a competitive field and set the season's fastest time in Division III. His performance ranks as the third-fastest in program history and the second-fastest in Centennial Conference history, behind Charlie Marquardt '16, who holds the Haverford program record with an 8:06.56 at the 2016 Villanova Invitational.
LaRochelle, fresh off a second consecutive All-America honor in cross country, had to wait through eight heats of 5,000-meter action before it was his turn to hit the track at the BU Track & Tennis Center. When all was said and done, LaRochelle finished just shy of his PR in 14:30.45 for 166th overall, as his personal best stands at 14:30.04, also set on the same track at BU. The time is currently the ninth-fastest in Division III this season.
At Ursinus, the Fords delivered strong performances across multiple events, showcasing a mix of returners and newcomers. In the 60-meter sprint, rookie Samuel Lin impressed with a 7.31 mark, finishing fourth in the prelims and tying for the 10th-fastest time in program history. Zenas Boamah also qualified for the final, while Jory Lee (18th, 7.81), Alex Geng (21st, 7.85), Amon-Ra Kamit (22nd, 7.95), Tiger Wang (25th, 8.09), and Niko Beros (29th, 8.23) rounded out the Haverford contingent. Lin finished seventh in the final (7.34), and Boamah secured eighth with a personal-best 7.35, earning a conference-qualifying mark.
In the 200 meters, Thomas Fendig made a strong debut, finishing sixth with a time of 23.40. Mark Tringas, in his collegiate debut, posted a 24.29 for 13th place and a conference-qualifying mark. Geng finished 18th (25.30), Nathan Ma was 20th (25.49), and Derek Linden took 21st (25.74).
The 400 meters saw a solid performance from Fendig, finishing fifth with a time of 52.73, earning a conference-qualifying mark. Vir Goyal (11th, 54.59) and Nico Greene (12th, 54.76) also logged qualifying marks, while Linden finished 20th (58.27).
In the 800 meters, Gopal Patel finished fifth overall with a time of 2:11.58. The mile saw a strong showing, led by Seamus Fraser, who was the top collegiate finisher in 4:26.65. Micah Lachman was second (4:28.31), and Reed Solomon was fourth (4:34.51), all earning conference-qualifying marks.
Luke de Valpine finished fifth (4:36.40), while Tate Sheehy placed eighth (4:53.75). Tommaso Wheeler earned a PR with a 4:55.34 in 11th, and Nicky Elias-Gillette (15th, 4:57.76), Reef Kirchner (16th, 4:58.98), and Cullen Worth (18th, 5:11.53) rounded out the mile finishers.
In the 5,000 meters, junior Deven Abrams impressed with a personal-record 16:49.87, finishing 19th overall.
The jumps and throws also saw standout performances, particularly from debutants. Will Singer had an exceptional debut in the weight throw, logging the second-best performance in program history with a toss of 8.55 meters (28 feet, 0.75 inches), finishing 13th. Singer also excelled in the shot put, finishing 11th with a Haverford-best throw of 10.75 meters (35 feet, 3.25 inches). Wang set a personal best with a 10.19-meter throw (33 feet, 5.25 inches), while Jason Mayo finished 17th with a 10.18-meter throw (33 feet, 4.75 inches). Kamit rounded out the shot putters with a 22nd-place finish (8.60 meters or 28 feet, 2.75 inches).
Jory Lee kicked off his indoor season with a solid performance in the triple jump, finishing second with a leap of 13.58 meters (44 feet, 6.74 inches), narrowly missing his personal best.
The long jump saw three strong performances from newcomers. Greene finished fourth with a jump of 6.18 meters (20 feet, 3.5 inches), followed by Jackson Juzang in fifth (6.16 meters or 20 feet, 2.5 inches) and Tringas in seventh (6.13 meters or 20 feet, 1.5 inches). Ma placed 11th (5.43 meters or 17 feet, 9.75 inches). Juzang also made an impact in the high jump, finishing fourth with a clearance of 1.60 meters (5 feet, 3 inches).
Mayo debuted in the pole vault, finishing sixth with a clearance of 2.9 meters (9 feet, 6.25 inches).
Men's Track & Field is now next in action on Sunday, January 19 for the Collegeville Classic at Ursinus. Action is slated to begin at 10 a.m.