ANNVILLE, Pa. – Ayden Stankus highlighted a great day by the Lebanon Valley College men's indoor track and field team by breaking the program record in the pole vault at Dutchmen Invitational inside the Arnold Sports Center on Friday.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES AND MAC QUALIFIERS
Stankus led a trio of Dutchmen in the pole vault with a height of 4.50 meters (14'9") which is the best in the Middle Atlantic Conference this season. His height is a MAC Championships and AARTFC Championships qualifier. Owen Linder ran 6.68 seconds in the prelims of the 55 meters and then ran 6.71 seconds in the final. He was followed closely by Derek McCardell who ran 6.72 seconds in the final. Linder's 6.68 converted 60-meter time is second in the conference while McCardell is sixth. Alec Di Cesare ran 54.67 seconds in the 400 meters and his converted time for track size gives him the fifth fastest time in the MAC.
 
The Dutchmen had a strong day in the mile with Vinny Ferrizzi winning in a MAC qualifying time of 4:36.59, Sam Rothstein finishing second in 4:40.93 to qualify for MACs, and Noah Griffin using a strong kick to finish third in 4:44.49. Their converted times for track size are first, third, and eighth in the MAC. Griffin won the 3000 meters in a very fast 9:04.93 which qualifies him for MACs. Joe Chukoski was second in 9:06.20 and Donnie Miller was fourth in a MAC qualifying 9:21.79. The trio are now first, second, and fourth in the conference in the event.
 
Zach Reed, Kadan Smith, and Daniel Murtha all ran fast times in the 55 hurdles. Reed ran 7.89 seconds in both the prelims and the final. Smith ran a career best 7.96 seconds in the final after a time of 8.04 seconds in the prelims. Murtha ran 8.06 seconds in the prelims to qualify for the AARTFC Championships and finished in 8.10 seconds in the final. The 4x400 meter relay team of Daniel Sheffield, Owen Linder, Donovan Goundie, and Matt Bruchak ran a fast time of 3:41.78. Their converted time is fourth in the MAC.
 
Robert Shoff had a great jump of 1.75 meters (5'8.75) which is fifth in the MAC. Sheffield had a MAC qualifying mark of 6.45 meters (21'2") in the long jump which is third in the conference. Josh Otto had a jump of 12.44 meters (40'9.75") in the triple jump which is sixth in the MAC. Trey Reynolds led the throwers in the shot put and weight throw with a toss of 13.50 meters (44'3.5") in the shot and a throw of 14.92 meters (48'11.5") in the weight. Wyatt Hetrick qualified for MACs in the weight throw with a toss of 11.44 meters (37'6.5").
 
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Stankus broke a 31-year-old record in the pole vault that was held by Greg Kutz. In 1992 Kutz vaulted 4.29 meters (14'1.25"). Chukoski ran the ninth-best 3,000-meter time in program history. Cody Shay moved into the record books in the weight throw with a career-best toss of 14.47 meters (47'5.75") which puts him sixth. Reed moved up to third from seventh in the 55 hurdles while Smith moved up from ninth to fifth. Murtha entered the rankings in eighth with his prelim time.
 
UP NEXT
Lebanon Valley will head to Lehigh University next Saturday for the Moravian Indoor Meet at Rauch Fieldhouse.

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