April 24, 2016
PRINCETON, N.J. - Four all-time top-10 times at Princeton's Larry Ellis Invitational highlighted Lafayette's performance at a pair of meets this weekend.
Erin Keen led the way in New Jersey, lowering her own second-best all-time mark in the 200-meter dash, while Thomas Day, Patrick Corcoran and Tessa Broholm also posted top-10 times or distances in the 3000m steeplechase, hammer throw and 400m hurdles, respectively.
Keen had previously set the No. 2 time in the 200 last weekend at the Greyhound Invitational after crossing the line in 24.99. She lowered that result by 0.07 on Saturday, placing 10th out of 42 competitors with a time of 24.92.
Day topped his old personal best by over five seconds in the steeplechase, finishing in an IC4A-qualifying mark of 9:15.35 to move from seventh to fourth in the Lafayette record books. He took 20th in Friday evening's race.
Corcoran already had the fourth-furthest throw in the hammer, but he added nearly two feet to his record on Friday, managing a top toss of 182' 1". The Leopards also received their usual standout effort from Dave McGriff in the discus. McGriff registered the top finish for the Maroon and White at the two-day meet, placing third out of 20 throwers with a top mark of 166' 6".
Mike Moralle added a top-10 result in the field, taking 9th out of 26 competitors in the javelin (185' 8"), and Jarrel Bobb posted IC4A-qualifying marks in both the 200 (22.03) and 400 (48.83) dashes.
Similar to Corcoran, Broholm was already in seventh place in the record books in the 400 hurdles. Her time of 1:03.94, though, was 0.04 quicker than her previous mark, and it earned her a 19th-place finish on Saturday.
On the track, Kelly Reager, Drew Davis, Keen and Devin Smith ran the fastest 4x400m relay of the outdoor season, completing the event in an ECAC-qualifying time of 3:49.65 to take fourth out of 21st.
Several other members of the track & field team traveled to East Stroudsburg for the All-American Invite on Saturday. Michael Thorne and Mara Blanchard each registered top-five showings in the pole vault, with Thorne placing fourth out of 20 on the men's side (14' 7 1/4") while Blanchard was fifth out of 30 in the women's competition (11' 1 3/4").
David Sadvary (3-of-15 - 10:10.99) and Mikayla Pacilio (2-of-6 - 11:59.94) also cracked the top five in the 3000m steeplechase races. Amelia Ayers (2:23.11) and Kelvin Serem (4:10.75), meanwhile, claimed seventh place in fields of 65+ runners in the 800m and 1500m, respectively.
Jaimee Sheppard had the top finish in the throws at ESU, finishing eighth out of 40 throwers in the javelin (110' 8").
Select Leopards will have the opportunity to take part in the prestigious Penn Relays from Thursday through Saturday next week, while others will travel to Bethlehem to compete in the Lehigh Games on Saturday. These meets will serve as the final tune-ups prior to the Patriot League Championships, held at Bucknell on May 6-7.