BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off its ninth straight win over Lafayette on Saturday at Rauch Fieldhouse, the Lehigh men’s track and field team will travel to the Armory in New York City for the Scarlet Knight Open. The Mountain Hawks will compete in their first two-day meet of the season as the Patriot League Championships on February 25-26 quickly approach.
Last time, Lehigh hosted Lafayette in its final home meet of the season, defeating the Leopards 118-60. The Mountain Hawks finished their annual rivalry meet with wins in 14 of 17 events and nine all-time top ten additions.
In the field events, Lehigh’s throwers and pole vaulters continued to dominate, with six Mountain Hawks adding their names to the all-time top ten list. In terms of passing, second Liam Lovering became third all-time in the shot put and fourth all-time in the weight throw. Lovering won the shot put (16.62m) and finished second in the weight throw (17.45m).
Throwing weight, senior Quinn Conlan and juniors Achilles Mouzakis both added their names to Lehigh’s top ten list. Conlan’s mark of 16.58m ranks him sixth all-time while Mouzakis’ mark of 16.57m places him seventh all-time. Sophomore Alex Clevenger added his name to the top ten list in the shot put, ranking seventh all-time with a mark of 16.16m.
Lehigh’s pole vaulters show no signs of slowing down as two student athletes added their own names to the all-time list. Junior Conor Reillywho won the pole vault with a mark of 4.83m, is now in fourth place all-time as a freshman Carter Bartz ranked ninth all-time with his second-place finish with a mark of 4.68m.
While the Mountain Hawks dominated the field against Lafayette, they continued the momentum on the track, winning nine events and adding two more to the all-time rankings. Senior Connor Right picked up Lehigh’s first track win on Saturday, winning the mile with an IC4A qualifying time of 4:14.42.
After Melko’s victory in the mile, Lehigh won the next three track events, extending its lead over Lafayette. Senior Maybe Kerem went on to make his final season as a Mountain Hawk count. Ayhan, who broke the 1000m school record at the Villanova Invitational, won the 800m with an IC4A qualifying time of 1:53.50 to rank eighth all-time.
Lehigh closed out the final home meet of the year by claiming first place in the final three races of the day. Senior French Tyler took the Mountain Hawks’ final individual win in the 3000m, winning the race in 8:33.31. After French’s win in the 3000m, Lehigh’s 4×400 relay and 4×800 relay took home the final two wins of the day.
The competition starts at 9:30 am on Friday and Saturday. Track events will begin at 11 am on Friday and 10:30 am on Saturday. View live results here.
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