ANNVILLE, Pa. – Ayden Stankus broke his own school record in the pole vault while Nick Guerieri and Kaitlyn Snyder had AARTFC qualifying throws in the javelin to highlight a strong start for the Lebanon Valley Outdoor Track and Field teams on Saturday as they Dutchmen competed against Lancaster Bible College in a Mini Home Meet.
 
The meet was a non-scoring meet and consisted of five events on the track, jumps, and throws.
 
Ava Matter had a strong outdoor debut for the Dutchmen qualifying for the MAC Championships in the 100 meters and 200 meters. She ran 12.98 seconds in the 100 and crossed the line in 26.46 seconds during the 200. Darrian Berkheimer was also a MAC qualifier in the 200 with a time of 27.30 seconds. Donovan Goundie qualified for the MAC Championships in the 400 meters with a career-best time of 50.67 seconds.
 
Melena Koutch and Emily Oriel hit MAC qualifying heights in the high jump. Koutch cleared 1.50 meters (4'11") while Oriel cleared 1.45 meters (4'9"). Rachel Snavely and Oriel qualified in the pole vault. Snavely had a height of 3.20 meters (10'6") while Oriel vaulted 2.90 meters (9'6.25").
 
Stankus had a height of 4.88 meters (16'0") in the pole vault to break the school and facility record. He topped his previous career-best height of 4.55 meters (14'11") that he cleared in 2023, and the facility record of 15'3" that Widener's Mick Coleman had in 2013. Stankus also qualified for the MAC and AARTFC Championships with his mark. Grant Smith also qualified for the MAC Championships in the pole vault with a height of 3.85 meters (12'7.5").
 
Stankus and Alex Brown were MAC qualifiers in the long jump. Stankus jumped 6.49 meters (21'3.5") on his fourth attempt while Brown hit 6.09 meters (19'11.75") on his second try. Brown also qualified in the triple jump with a mark of 11.88 meters (38'11.75") on his third jump. The women's team had five MAC qualifiers in the long jump as Chloe Grady, Anna Sawicki, Hailey Myers, Tola Oyinkolade, and Carolina Wegman all hit the qualifying mark. Grady led the way with a jump of 4.89 meters (16'0.5") on her fourth try. Sawicki jumped 4.84 meters (15'10.5") on her second attempt, Myers hit 4.75 meters (15'7") on her third jump, Oyinkolade had a mark of 4.70 meters (15'5") on her fourth try, and Wegman recorded a mark of 4.61 meters (15'1.5") on her first attempt. Grady, Myers, and Oyinkolade also qualified in the triple jump as did Haley Thunberg. Grady had another top mark of 10.10 meters (33'1.75") on her second and third jumps. Myers jumped 10.04 meters (32'11.25") on her fourth attempt, Oyinkolade recorded a mark of 9.82 meters (32'2.75") on her third try, and Thunberg had a mark of 9.81 meters (32'2.25") on her second attempt.
 
Nick Guerieri had the best mark in the shot put and the javelin recording a MAC qualifying mark in the shot and both a MAC and AARTFC Championship qualifying mark in the javelin. He threw the javelin 56.24 meters (184'6") on his second attempt and he threw the shot put 11.98 meters (39'3.75") on his first toss. Guerieri also qualified for MACs in the hammer throw with a toss of 35.35 meters (116'0") on his first attempt. Snyder was also a MAC and AARTFC qualifier in the javelin with a throw of 35.54 meters (116'7") on her fourth throw.
 
Aonghas Evanick qualified in three throwing events as he had the top discus mark of 39.88 meters (130'10") on his first toss, the top hammer throw of 42.29 meters (138'9") on his third attempt, and a mark of 11.82 meters (38'9.5") in the shot put. Ian Paul and Graison Michajluk were MAC qualifiers in the shot put while Michael De Falcis was a qualifier in the javelin. Paul threw the shot 11.83 meters (38'9.75") on his second throw while Michajluk had a mark of 11.69 meters (38''4.25") on his first toss. De Falcis threw the javelin 47.45 meters (155'7") on his third attempt.
 
The women's team had five MAC qualifiers in the shot put. Sawicki led the way with a mark of 10.91 meters (35'9.5") on her third throw. Alyssa Betz threw 10.27 meters (33'8.5") on her second attempt, Lauren Assante had a mark of 10.26 meters (33'8") on her fourth toss, Greta Plechner had a mark of 9.74 meters (31'11.5") on her first throw, and Joie Connolly had a toss of 9.27 meters (30'5") on her second throw. Betz also qualified in the discus with a throw of 34.77 meters (114'1") on her first attempt. Assante was a qualifier in the hammer throw with a toss of 40.10 meters (131'7") on her first attempt. Connolly and Sawicki were also qualifiers for the MAC Championships in the javelin. Connolly had a mark of 32.66 meters (107'2") on her first attempt while Sawicki threw 32.06 meters (105'2") on her fourth toss.
 
The Dutchmen will be back in action next weekend as they compete in the two-day Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University. Action starts on Friday afternoon in Chester and will conclude on Saturday.

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