New York, NY (February 2, 2024) - The DeSales University men's track & field team had some stellar performances on Friday evening competing on a banked track at the NYC Division III Invitational held at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory in the Bronx.

Beginning with the 60-meter hurdles, junior Sam Estherson set a personal best in the prelims with a time of 8.70, good for ninth place overall while narrowly missing the finals, qualifying for the MAC Championships.

Then, in the 400-meter dash senior Kyle Dunbar secured third place overall with a season best time of 50.86 while winning the second heat. Sophomore Braeden De Grazia (56.13) and first-year Bryce Guthier (56.15) also set personal bests in the event, finishing in 43^rd and 44^th place, respectively.

Moving onto the 60-meter dash prelims, senior Logan Berner finished ninth overall out of the fourth heat with a time of 7.10, securing a spot in the finals. Berner then maintained his performance, climbing up to the 8th spot with the same impressive time of 7.10 in the finals. Senior Vajon Wilson also ran out of the fourth heat, clocking in at a personal best of 7.22.

In the mile, sophomore Davis Trump set a massive personal best with a time of 4:25.73, finishing 17^th place overall from the second heat. His performance moved him up to eighth on the all-time list for the indoor mile. First-years Jozef Callano (4:32.96) and Dylan Doskocil (4:34.53) impressed out of the third heat, finishing 27^th and 31^st overall, respectively. Trump and Callano qualified for the MAC Championships in the event.

For the 800-meter run, Trump followed up with a time of 2:01.86 to notch 24th overall and another personal best. Senior Ben Phillippy then finished 28^th overall 2:02.63 from the third heat in an impressive first race of the season. First-year Joey Wilson also had a strong showing, finishing 32^nd overall with a time of 2:04.38. Trump and Philippy narrowly qualified for the conference championships with their races.

Then, in the loaded 200-meter dash, Wilson sprinted to sixth place overall finish from the twelfth heat with a time of 22.75 seconds, setting a massive season best in the process. Dunbar and Berner also posted season bests in the event, finishing 14th (22.98) and 25th (23.43) overall, respectively.

Senior Shane Artis led the Bulldogs in the 3000-meter run, securing the eighth overall spot with a time of 8:50.59. Senior Nick Manidis (9:00.58) and graduate student Brian Bruno (9:03.16) then both delivered personal bests out of the second heat to finish 19^th and 21^st overall, respectively. All three times were qualifiers for the MAC championship in the event.

In the field events, first-year Weston Simak impressed by placing fifth overall in the long jump with a personal best mark of 6.52m.

Lastly, in the weight throw, sophomore Giovanni Wellington set a massive personal best in route to an eighth-place finish with a mark of 13.22m.

With the addition of two new qualifiers, the Bulldogs currently have 20 athletes who have qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference championship in late February.

After a successful outing at the NYC Division III Invitational, the Bulldogs will continue to build momentum with some athletes gearing up for the DeSchriver Invitational on Sunday at East Stroudsburg University.