Video of Gadra's Pole Vault Record
PHILADELPHIA - The Haverford College men's track & field team returned to competition after 412 days on Saturday, with a slate of events at the Philadelphia Metropolitan Collegiate Invitational at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field.
The meet replaced the traditional Penn Relays, which were canceled due to COVID-19. The scaled-down version of the spring tradition featured athletes from 18 colleges and universities within 40 miles of Philadelphia in all three NCAA divisions.
Junior Ethan Gadra became the first Haverford student-athlete to return to intercollegiate action, and instantly made waves in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.55 meters (14 feet, 11 inches) to establish a new Haverford program record. Gadra, who previously took the indoor record at the Centennial Conference Championships in 2020, eclipsed the previous outdoor mark of 4.41m (14-6) set by Jeff Barton '04 at the 2004 Centennial Conference Championships. The West Chester, Pa. product was the only Division III entrant in the event, as he finished fourth overall behind just a trio of Penn vaulters.
In evening action on the track, the 1,500 meter race saw a large contingent of Haverford runners, paced by sophomore Charlie Ferguson who finished second overall in 3:59.82. The personal-best mark ensured Ferguson finished as the top Division III runner in the event. Fellow sophomore Nathan Leighninger also recorded a top five performance, clocking in at 4:07.19. Junior Amos Karlsen was sixth in 4:07.60, while junior Scott Kaiser (4:12.13, eighth) and first year Matthew Denton (4:16.06, ninth) also finished in the top 10.
Sophomore Jeffrey Allen narrowly missed a top 10 finish, taking 11th place with a mark of 4:19.74 while senior Jacob Landsberg finished 14th in 4:22.93. Sophomore Ryan Quenemoen (4:23.79, 15th), senior Jack Fanikos (4:29.73, 16th), and sophomore Michael Franco (4:31.52, 17th) crossed in succession as did senior Jacob Gaba (4:37.41, 20th), senior Abe Doroshow (5:00.15, 21st), and first-year Keqing He (5:06.47, 22nd).
Prior to that grouping, senior Jack Hunter represented Haverford in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, posting a seventh place finish in 10:13.06. The 5,000 meters was the final event of the night for the Fords, featuring sophomore Ryan Kredell leading Haverford with a 13th place finish in 15:15.96. Sophomore Aaron Bratt finished 17th, crossing in 15:43.95, while senior Nathan Akerhielm rounded out the top 20 finishers with a time of 15:55.72.