The Slippery Rock University men’s outdoor track and field team tallied 28 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying marks along with two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) marks when The Rock hosted the John Papa Invitational on Thursday.
19 colleges traveled to the William Lennox Track at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for SRU’s second home meet of the season.
The White and Green recorded eight event wins, with the remaining majority placing in the top 10.
The event kicked off with the hammer throw, Zach Gose earning the first event win of the day with a throw of 60.67 meters to gain an NCAA provisional. Ryan Olesky was not far behind in third place. Rock athletes rounded out the top 10 behind Chad Hepler, Logan Parker and Evan Hall, all earning PSAC marks.
The other NCAA provisional mark came from a first-place finish by Joey Reed in the javelin throw. Ryan Beam took second with a PSAC mark with a throw of 58.23 meters.
Olesky continued his strong showing in the discus throw. He took eighth place to earn himself another PSAC mark. Seaton Wozniak took sixth with a throw of 48.34 meters.
Five of the eight first-place wins for the White and Green came from the field events.
Jason Alderson and Dylan Langdon each solely placed first in their respective events: Alderson in the triple jump and Langdon in the high jump to add to the PSAC count.
Alderson continued to take first-place wins in the long jump as well. The sophomore is a five-time PSAC Championship Qualifier and a two-time All-PSAC.
Another strong event for SRU was the shot put. Five athletes placed, four in the top 10, all earning qualifying marks. Wozniak led the way, placing fourth, followed by Connor Brown. Parker (seventh) and Tyler Ondrusek (ninth) also placed along with Gose.
Moving into the track events, Ryan Czechowski (10,000-meter run) and Matthew Crow (110-meter hurdles) each took first-place wins, and Crow earned a qualifying mark.
Three other Rock athletes placed in the 110-meter hurdle alongside Crow. Austin Kurta was right behind him in second place, while Logan Anderson and Jonathan Wess finished in the top 10.
Nicholas Hartwick, Kyle Rauchut, Michael Gauntner and Kurta all took second-place finishes in their respective events.
Slippery Rock now looks to split their squad next weekend for the final meets before the PSAC Championships. The team will be sent to the Allegheny Invitational on Friday and the Ashland Alumni Open next Friday and Saturday.
