Bethlehem, PA & Staten Island, NY (December 2-3, 2023) - The DeSales University men's track & field team made their season debut this weekend with some impressive performances that included 13 student-athletes posting MAC qualifying times competing at the Fastrack Season Opener at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Center and the Mountain Hawk Season opener at Lehigh University.
Highlighting the top individual performances were senior
Xavier Phoenix taking first place in the long and triple jump, and senior
Shane Artis taking second place in the 5000-meter run.
On Friday night, several field events took place at Lehigh University's indoor track facility.
In the long jump, Phoenix ran away from the competition by setting a mark of
6.97-meters while qualifying for the AARTFC Regional Indoor Championship. First-years
Lens Demonthe and
Weston Simak also made their collegiate debuts in the event. Demonthe came in fourth place overall with a mark of
6.31-meters, while Simak placed ninth with a mark of
6.01-meters. All three athletes hit qualifying marks for the MAC championships.
In the weight throw, sophomore
Jonathan Eudja set a huge personal best with a throw of
12.39-meters, good for 11
th place overall. Fellow sophomore
Giovanni Wellington finished 14
th overall, with a throw of
11.67-meters. Both marks were qualifiers for the MAC championship event.
Also on Friday night, six distance runners competed in the 5000-meter race night at the Ocean Breeze indoor track facility. Of those six competitors, the top three hit qualifying times for the MAC championship race.
Artis took second place in the event, finishing with a time of
15:13.21 while also qualifying for the Regional Championship. Graduate student
Matt Santacoloma finished just behind in fifth place with a time of
15:24.01. Sophomore
Davis Trump placed seventh overall, setting a five-second personal best in the event with a time of
15:36.75. Senior
Tim Connell also set a huge personal best, finishing 12
th overall with a time of
16:29.72.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs returned to action at Lehigh for the running events and additional field events.
In the triple jump, Phoenix again notched a first place finish while qualifying for the Regional Championship with a mark of
14.35-meters. Simak and Demosthene also had excellent performances, finishing 5th (
12.78-meters) and 8th place (
12.27-meters) respectively. All three qualified for the MAC Championships.
In the shot put, sophomore
Jacob Schaeffer set a personal best with a mark of
11.92-meters, which was good for 13th place. Wellington was close behind, finishing 15th place overall with a throw of
11.89-meters. Both athletes qualified for the conference championship event with their performances.
In the 60 meter, senior
Logan Berner won the third heat to qualify for the finals with a time of
7.12. He then finished seventh in the finals, setting a personal best with a time of
7.08. The performance was the third best in school history, punching a ticket to MAC Champs and the Regional meet. Sophomore heptathlete
Tyler McCulloch also hit the qualifying time for the event, finishing with a personal best in a time of
7.32.
In the 400 meter, senior
Kyle Dunbar won the second heat and placed fourth overall with a time of
52.76. First-year
Colin Marsh made a strong debut, finishing first out of the second heat and notching fifth overall in a time of
52.79.
Finally, in the 200 meter, Dunbar won the second heat and placed third overall with a time of
23.40. Marsh then won out of the sixth heat in a time of 23.67. These finishes helped both athletes punch a ticket to the MAC championship.
The Bulldogs will get a long break to train before they return to action at Lehigh's facilities for the Moravian University Invitational on January 22nd
