The Shippensburg University men’s indoor track & field team came through with its 12th consecutive conference title on Sunday, claiming the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in exciting fashion at Bucknell University’s Gerhard Fieldhouse.
Shippensburg scored 165 points, winning five of the 17 events and scoring 10 or more points in eight events overall. The Raiders staved off a strong Slippery Rock squad, who finished with 133 points.
Ian Sherlock (Hopewell, Pa./Northern Bedford County) was named the 2023 PSAC Indoor Championships Most Valuable Track Athlete; he won the 3,000 meters on Sunday after finishing second in the mile earlier in the day.
Mason Boyd (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) broke the all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record in the heptathlon with 5,162 points, surpassing the 2010 mark of Raider Hall of Famer Donnie Graybill. Boyd’s score is officially listed as 5,186 points on the national list due to the 1,000 meters having a track conversion to the national track type.
Drew Dailey (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) broke the PSAC Championships meet record in the 800 meters with a victorious time of 1:52.23, defeating IUP’s Kendall Branan by nearly full two seconds. Branan defeated Dailey in the 800 last season at the conference meet.
Eric Kirk (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) won the 60 meters in a time of 6.89 seconds. On Saturday, Hayden Hunt won the 5K and the distance medley relay won in a photo finish.
Shippensburg has now won 15 of the 21 PSAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships in history, including every league title back dating back to 2011.
It is the seventh time in history that Shippensburg has swept the men’s and women’s indoor titles in the same season (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2023).
Complete Results (event-by-event)
60
1. Eric Kirk 6.89 (6.88p)
3. Mo Whittle 6.97 (6.96p) (season best)
13. Herb Quarterman 7.13
Kirk claimed his first PSAC title in the 60-meter dash and his third career scoring performance, having placed second last season and sixth in 2020. He held his No. 1 seed earned during prelims, running 6.89 seconds in Sunday’s final after qualifying in 6.88 seconds. He defeated Kutztown’s Michael Fellin by .04 seconds.
Whittle scored for the first time in the event with his All-PSAC third-place finish of 6.97 seconds. He exceeded his No. 5 seed from prelims and, like Kirk, was only .01 seconds slower in the final than in the prelims. Whittle previously finished 11th in the event last year.
200
2. Eric Kirk 22.14 (22.16p)
8. Quinton Townsend 24.95 (22.31p)
Teagan Weaver FS
Kirk also scored in the 200 for the third time in his career, achieving his second straight All-PSAC finish after winning the event last year. He also placed eighth in the event in 2020. His finals time of 22.14 seconds was .02 seconds faster than his prelim time.
Townsend ran injured after diving at the line in his finish in the 400 meters. He battled to finish the 200 meters and secure a team point for the Raiders with his eighth-place finish.
Slippery Rock’s AJ Virata, the 2023 PSAC Championships Most Valuable Athlete, won the 200 with a time of 21.82 seconds.
400
3. Quinton Townsend 49.99 (50.50p)
Travis Bigham DNF
James Jaisingh DNS
Townsend exceeded his No. 6 seed by three places by breaking the 50-second mark in the finals, diving at the finish to deliver the fastest time in the first of the two heats. His time of 49.99 seconds held up for third place, resulting in his first individual All-PSAC classification.
Lock Haven’s Ryan Miller defended his title in the event, winning with a time of 48.94 seconds.
800
1. Drew Dailey 1:52.23 (NCAA ‘P’) (Meet Record)
5. Chase Hensinger 1:55.20
9. Ryan Scicchitano 1:58.12
11. Matt Wehrle 1:59.10
12. Mitchell Brett 1:59.51
Dailey avenged his second-place finish in the event last year by dropping splits of 27.69 seconds on each of his middle 200-meter revolutions to separate from the pack and defeat IUP’s Kendall Branan. It is the second PSAC title in the event for Dailey, who won in 2020 as a freshman, and the third All-PSAC classification for him.
His time of 1:52.23 broke the meet record of 1:52.82 set in 2007 by IUP’s Sean Strauman – the same man Dailey surpassed earlier this season in breaking the all-time PSAC record (1:49.49). Dailey will be headed to nationals at Virginia Beach in two weeks as a result of that run, which has him ranked ninth in the country in the event.
Chase Hensinger (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) notched a fifth-place finish in the event after running 1:55.20 – a time that would convert to a new season best (1:53.58) for the Raider first-year runner. Hensinger made a push forward at the 400-meter mark but was edged for fourth place by just three tenths of a second.
Ryan Scicchitano (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) delivered a time of 1:58.12 that amounted to a season best on conversion (1:56.46) and was just .27 seconds shy of cracking the podium, resulting in ninth place.
Mile
2. Ian Sherlock 4:14.49
3. Matt Wehrle 4:16.07
8. Brennan Wellock 4:23.00
11. Ryan Wolfe 4:26.59
16. Mitchell Brett 4:31.04
Sherlock’s journey to the 2023 PSAC Indoor Championships Most Valuable Track Athlete begin with an excellent effort in the mile that was nearly a victory, as he was neck and neck with Seton Hill’s Gabriel McConville entering the bell lap, but McConville out-kicked him over the final 200 meters to win in 4:13.85.
Nonetheless, Sherlock’s second-place time of 4:14.49 is not only his first All-PSAC classification in the event but also his first scoring effort, as he finished ninth last season. The time is 11 seconds faster than he ran on the oversized track at last year’s PSAC Indoor Championships at Edinboro. It’s also a new PR that results in a 4:11.29 upon conversion.
Close behind Sherlock was Matt Wehrle (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney (Edinboro)), who found the podium for the second time on the weekend with a third-place time of 4:16.07. Wehrle edged Slippery Rock’s Devin Navaroli by a mere .25 seconds to achieve his first All-PSAC classification. His time converts to 4:12.85 and also stands as a new personal best.
Brennan Wellock (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) ran a great race in the first finals heat and delivered a time of 4:23.00 that held up as a scoring effort – placing eighth. Wellock ran second in the first heat after consistent splits of 32 and 33 seconds. His time converts to 4:19.69 and is also a new season and collegiate best.
3K
1. Ian Sherlock 8:41.15
3. Joey Cintavey 8:44.07
15. Kevin Wagner 8:59.98
16. Brennan Wellock 9:00.70
17. Ryan Wolfe 9:01.17
18. Hayden Hunt 9:03.99
21. Nathan Harding 9:05.61
25. Alexander Ermold 9:08.04
26. Luke Hinegardner 9:12.76
In the next to last track event of the meet, nine Raiders took to the track in the 3K. Sherlock and Joey Cintavey (Newark, Del./The Tatnall School) were joined in the front of the pack of the second finals heat by Navaroli (from the mile) and Cal’s Jonathan Thrush – who had battled Hayden Hunt in the 5K on Saturday. Sherlock began his move with three laps to go, pushing ahead with a 33.73-second split and distancing himself from the others over the final 400 meters with his final two splits of 32.92 seconds and 28.13 seconds.
Sherlock’s winning time of 8:41.15 converts to 8:35.16 and resulted in a two-second PR. It’s an incredible improvement of nearly 40 seconds from his time on the oversized track at last year’s championships at Edinboro that resulted in a 14th-place finish.
Cintavey notched his second All-PSAC finish of the weekend and his first individual all-conference classification with this third-place time of 8:44.07. Navaroli ended up second in 8:43.63, while Thrush was fourth in 8:44.10 – just .03 seconds behind Cintavey.
5K (contested Saturday)
1. Hayden Hunt 15:06.80
2. Garrett Quinan 15:07.46
6. Nathan Harding 15:19.39
12. Chayce Macknair 15:41.65
18. Alexander Ermold 16:22.50
Shippensburg totaled 21 points in the 5K, as Hunt won in 15:06.80, freshman Garrett Quinan (Stewartstown, Pa./Kennard-Dale) ran second in 15:07.46 and Nathan Harding (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) impressed with a sixth-place finish in 15:19.39.
Hunt was running in sync with Cal’s Thrush for the entirety of the race, but put forth a kick over the final 400 meters of the race to gain two seconds of separation and get the win. His final two 200-meter splits were clocked at 33.67 seconds and 30.49 seconds.
It was arguably not even the best kick in the field, however, as Quinan ran an eye-opening 29.84 seconds over the final 200 meters to move from fourth place into second place, finishing six-tenths of a second behind Hunt and a full second of Thrush. Quinan pulverized his previous personal best by 18 seconds, as the race was just his second collegiate 5K. Slippery Rock’s Troy Hart, who was also in the pack with Hunt, Quinan and Thrush, fell to fourth place.
At the 3K mark of the race, Harding was sitting in ninth place. He maintained a strong pace, however, dropping 200-meter splits between 36 and 37 seconds as he slowly picked off runners ahead of him. Harding moved from eighth place into sixth place at the 4K mark and held his ground over the final 1,000 meters to reach the podium.
It was another fantastic performance for Harding in what has been a tremendous 2022-23 season. Harding’s only 5K race of the season to date had been his qualifier of 15:46.31 on Jan. 21 – which was also his indoor PR. Harding destroyed his personal best by a staggering 26 seconds Saturday in what was just his fifth collegiate indoor 5K overall.
It is the first conference title for Hunt and his second straight All-PSAC finish in the event after a third-place run last season. Quinan, a freshman, claimed his first All-PSAC classification indoors while Harding scored in the event for the first time; he was 15th in the event last season.
Shippensburg has claimed five of the six All-PSAC finishes in the event over the last two seasons, as Chayce Macknair won it last year, Aiden Gonder was second and Hunt third.
60 Hurdles
Jeovaughni Daniel FS (8.46p) (season best)
17. Ethan Conrad 8.83
20. Robbie Hrabosky II 8.89
Jeovaughni Daniel (Newtown Square, Pa./Episcopal Academy (Marymount)) had qualified as the No. 7 seed for the 60-meter hurdle finals, but unfortunately was gunned for a false start and therefore did not place. His time of 8.46 seconds during prelims was a season best and the fastest by a Raider this season.
4×4 Relay
Eric Kirk, Chase Hensinger, Robbie Hrabosky II, Teagan Weaver DQ
The 4×400-meter relay crossed the finish line in 3:23.91 – a time that would have resulted in a third-place finish, but a yellow flag following the first handoff resulted in an official disqualifying the Raiders from the competition. It is the first time that SU has been disqualified from the 4×400-meter relay since 2015.
Distance Medley Relay (contested Saturday)
1. Matt Wehrle, Robbie Hrabosky II, Chase Hensinger, Joey Cintavey 10:09.31
It’s hard for a 10-minute race to be decided by less than two-tenths of a second, but Shippensburg and Slippery Rock managed to do that on Saturday. Cintavey, the SU anchor, clocked a 4:15.9 split to narrowly stave off Slippery Rock’s Devon Navaroli – whose 4:12.71 anchor was the fastest 1,600-meter leg of the field by more than a second.
Wehrle ran 3:06.78 on the opening 1,200-meter leg as the Raiders sat behind Mansfield (finished fifth) and Lock Haven (finished fourth). An excellent 400-meter leg of 50.99 seconds by Hrabosky II set up what proved to be the pivotal leg for the Raiders, as Hensinger fashioned a marvelous 800-meter leg of 1:55.64 that got the Raiders past the Mountaineers into first place entering the final 1,600-meter leg.
Navaroli’s anchor leg moved The Rock from fourth place into second, while Bloomsburg’s terrific anchor leg delivered by Brayden Graham (4:14.34) moved the Huskies from sixth place all the way into an All-PSAC third-place finish.
It is the second straight year that Shippensburg has won the distance medley relay. Hrabosky II is the only Raider who ran on last year’s relay – he ran the 400-meter leg in each victory.
High Jump
11. Kenny Rhyne 6’ 2” (1.88m)
T14. Donovan Hart 6’ 0” (1.83m)
The high jump did not go the way that the Raiders had hoped, as the Raiders were unable to reach the podium. Kenny Rhyne (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock), who entered in a tie for the No. 3 seed, finished 11th, while Donovan Hart (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) claimed 14th place.
Pole Vault (contested Saturday)
2. Robert Lissner 14’ 7 ¼” (4.45m) (matches season best)
Robert Lissner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area), who sat eighth in the heptathlon entering Sunday (before ultimately finishing third), took a break from the multis to deliver a second-place finish in the pole vault. Lissner’s top clearance of 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches matches his season best and marks the second straight year that Lissner has earned an All-PSAC finish in the event after a third-place podium visit last season.
Long Jump (contested Saturday)
3. Mo Whittle 24’ 3 ¼” (7.41m) (season best) (NCAA ‘P’)
13. Teagan Weaver 21’ 8 ¾” (6.62m)
Two sensational field battles took place Saturday, with the men’s long jump being one of them. Four men achieved NCAA provisional qualifiers of 23 feet, 9 inches or better (7.24 meters), and the Top 4 finishers combined to record 13 long jumps of seven meters or better in the competition.
Whittle, the 2022 long jump champion, achieved his second straight All-PSAC finish with a third-place mark of 24 feet, 3 ¾ inches (7.41 meters) – a huge PR that now ranks him second in SU history for the event behind Herman Kirkland. He achieved his new personal best on his first jump of the competition to gain an early lead, but was unable to get another mark over seven meters the rest of the day. One hour before the long jump competition started, Whittle ran a season best in the 60 meters to qualify for the finals of that event.
Whittle’s lead jump only lasted one round, however, as dynamic East Stroudsburg freshman Donavan Anderson landed a jump of 24 feet, 5 inches (7.44 meters). The talented Anderson posted jumps of 24 feet, 4 ¼ inches, 24 feet, 4 ½ inches and his best mark of 24-5 in an incredible feat of impressive consistency.
However, all league jumpers ultimately trailed Slippery Rock’s senior Bryan Dworek, who capped off an amazing competition by winning the conference title on his final jump. Dworek’s top mark of the day had been 23 feet, 8 ¾ inches (7.23 meters), which was in line for fourth place. His final jump was 24 feet, 5 ¾ inches (7.46 meters), giving him the edge by ¾ of an inch for a league title. Dworek, Anderson and Whittle – the three All-PSAC finishers – were separated by just two inches for first, second and third.
Triple Jump
3. Mo Whittle 46’ 4 ¾” (14.14m)
5. Jacob Cramer 45’ 4 ¼” (13.82m)
11. Darrien Ressler 44’ 4” (13.51m)
12. Jabrie Gaymon 44’ 2 ½” (13.47m)
As it has been known to do on Championship Sunday, the men’s triple jump lasted well into the afternoon and did not get finished up until around 5 p.m. – well after every other event (including all women’s events) had been completed.
The competition was a good one, and all four of the Raider competitors finished in the Top 12.
Whittle achieved his second All-PSAC finish of the day, claiming third place on a top mark and personal best of 46 feet, 4 ¾ inches that was achieved on his first attempt. It is the first 14-meter jump of Whittle’s indoor career and gave him a huge PR in both of his jumps at this year’s conference championships. It is also the second straight year that Whittle has scored in the event after a seventh-place finish last year.
At this year’s championships, Whittle finished as a three-time All-PSAC performer, taking third in the 60 meters, the long jump and the triple jump.
Jacob Cramer (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) saved his best jump for last, and it was a big one – as it vaulted him from ninth place all the way into fifth place. Cramer’s sixth and final attempt resulted in a mark of 45 feet, 4 ¼ inches, and marks the second straight year he has scored in the triple jump after an eighth-place finish last season.
Anderson, who was narrowly edged by Dworek in the long jump on Saturday, left nothing to the imagination on Sunday with an opening jump of 49 feet, 5 ½ inches that won the competition. West Chester’s Dayshawn Jacobs, also a freshman, made it interesting on his final attempt by landing his best jump of the day – it was a leap of 48 feet, 3 ¼ inches.
Shot Put
4. Pat Maloney 54’ 10 ¾” (16.73m)
7. Josh Herbster 49’ 8 ½” (15.15m)
11. Alex Kyle 46’ 11 ½” (14.31m)
Pat Maloney (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) landed a PR on his third attempt of 54 feet, 10 ¾ inches that resulted in a fourth-place finish and a NCAA provisional qualifier. It’s the third straight year that Maloney has scored in the shot put, accompanying a third-place finish last season and an eighth-place finish in 2020.
Josh Herbster (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) reached the awards stand for the first time in the event, placing seventh with a top shot put of 49 feet, 8 ½ inches. Herbster’s opening throw was his best. He previously had placed 10th and 11th in the event at the conference meet.
No one was able to come close to West Chester throws guru Ralph Casper, whose only successful mark of the day was a put of 61 feet, 6 ¼ inches on his second attempt that won the competition by more than five feet. Casper won the Most Valuable Field Athlete of the Championships by virtue of his effort.
Weight Throw (contested Saturday)
3. Josh Herbster 61’ 8 ½” (18.81m) (PR) (NCAA ‘P’)
4. Pat Maloney 60’ 3 ¾” (18.38m) (season best) (NCAA ‘P’)
13. Alex Kyle 47’ 6 ¼” (14.48m)
At the last two PSAC Championships, only two men had achieved weight throws of 60 feet or farther – 2022 champion Maloney and 2020 Raider champion Cam Strohe. On Saturday, four men threw the weight 60 feet or farther. It was a fantastic competition.
Herbster posted an All-PSAC finish for the second straight year, following up a second-place finish to Maloney last season with a third-place finish Saturday. Herbster landed yet another PR, scoring a top mark of 61 feet, 8 ½ inches on his final throw. It’s an improvement of 3 ¾ inches to his PR set last week at Bucknell. Herbster jumped from fourth to third on his fifth throw, itself an impressive heave of 61 feet, 2 ¾ inches.
Maloney achieved the third scoring performance of his career in the weight with a fourth-place finish of 60 feet, 3 ¾ inches that is a new season best and also a new PR by 2 ½ inches. His first successful throw of the day, 60 feet, 3 ¼ inches on his second attempt, established a new personal best at the time until he enhanced it by a half-inch on his final throw. He had three 18-meter throws on the day.
At his final collegiate indoor meet, Maloney finished up by delivering new PRs in both the shot and the weight.
Shot put wunderkind Casper proved he could also throw the weight quite far on Saturday, finishing second in 62 feet, 1 ¾ inches. It was a mark that also came on his final throw – Casper, Herbster and Maloney all recorded their best throws on their final attempt. Casper’s third-attempt throw of 61 feet, 9 ½ inches had him as the leader of the competition entering the finals.
Slippery Rock senior Joshua VanDeMark, the reigning PSAC Athlete of the Week in the event after breaking a school record last week with the conference’s top throw, did even better Saturday for the win. On his first attempt in the finals, VanDeMark unleashed a weight throw of 63 feet, 7 inches (19.38 meters) to ultimately win by more than a foot and a half. It moves VanDeMark into 16th on the national leaderboard pending other results across the country from the weekend.
Heptathlon
1. Mason Boyd 5162
3. Robert Lissner 4650
9. Ryan Murphy 4120
In winning the conference title in the heptathlon by a whopping 461-point margin, Boyd claimed his second straight All-PSAC finish after a third-place effort last season.
Most impressively, Boyd achieved a PR in all seven events of the heptathlon. On Saturday, he delivered the fastest 60-meter dash (7.06 seconds, which would’ve placed sixth in Sunday’s championship finals of the event), the best long jump (23 feet, 3 ¼ inches, which would’ve placed fifth in Saturday’s finals), a shot put of 32 feet, 9 ½ inches and a high jump of 6 feet, 2 inches.
He then set the tone Sunday by running the 60-meter hurdles in 8.78 seconds. Boyd then cleared the pole vault bar at 13 feet, 11 ¼ inches – an incredible personal best of nearly a full foot – before coming back and running the 1,000 meters in 2:46.59.
As a result, Donnie Graybill’s conference record of 5,092 points is no longer after a 13-year run.
Not to be lost in the effort is the second straight All-PSAC classification in the event for Robert Lissner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area), who placed third with 4,650 points. Lissner finished second last season with 4,601 points, with his 2023 score setting his new personal best.
Lissner, who placed second in the open pole vault competition Saturday on a top clearance of 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches, cleared 14 feet, 11 inches on Sunday in the heptathlon for a new PR. His previous pole vault best had been 14-9 last season at VMI. It as the expected surge for Lissner, who moved from eighth place into third with the performance.
Over the course of the meet, Lissner also delivered a new PR in the 60-meter dash (7.27 seconds) and a PR in the shot put of 35 feet, 0 ½ inches.
Ryan Murphy (New Oxford, Pa./Delone Catholic) set new PRs in five of his seven events and narrowly missed the awards stand with a ninth-place finish. Murphy’s high jump of 5 feet, 11 ½ inches on Saturday was the second-best mark of the heptathlon.
Graybill’s conference record at the 2010 PSAC Indoor Championships led to a trip to 2010 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, where he scored 5,072 points and placed fourth in the nation.
Amazingly, Boyd’s conference-record score set Sunday only ranks him 20th on the national leaderboard this season.
