Senior Sam Sheldon (Tully, N.Y./Tully) and junior Dylan McKeever (Furlong, Pa./Central Bucks East) finished 1-2 while each posting PRs in the mile to lead the Gettysburg College men’s track and field team at the Susquehanna University Invitational on Saturday.
Gettysburg’s Top Performers
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Sam Sheldon ’20
- Mile Run – 1st (4:24.16 – 8th in program history)
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Dylan McKeever ’21
- Mile Run – 1st (4:24.83 – 9th in program history)
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William Hopkins ’22 (Raleigh, N.C./Needham B. Broughton)
- 800 Meter Run – 6th (2:01.94)
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Luke Matzke ’20 (Collegeville, Pa./Malvern Prep)
- 5,000 Meter Run – 8th (16:46.58)
Meet Highlights
- Sheldon and McKeever ran together in the mile for the second time this indoor season. The pair trailed Ryan Heskin from Dickinson through the first 1,000 meters before Sheldon jumped to the front of the pack. The senior maintained his hold on the top spot for the remainder of the race, holding off a hard-charging McKeever over the final 200 meters for his fourth long-distance win this indoor season. Sheldon topped his PR set at the F&M Diplomat Open in January by just 0.02 seconds and remained eighth in program history with a mark of 4:24.16. McKeever, who blazed a 29.89 final 200 split, topped his previous indoor mile best by over four seconds at 4:24.83 and moved into ninth on the program list.
- Hopkins posted a personal best by over four seconds in the 800. The sophomore was the top finisher in his heat and advanced through the pack in each lap of the race before settling into the lead in the final lap. He finished the race in 2:01.94, which placed him sixth overall in the field of 43 finishers.
- Matzke recorded a top-10 finish in the 5,000 for the second time this season. After finishing seventh at the Susquehanna Open two weeks ago, Matzke claimed the No. 8 spot on Saturday. He was no worse than 10th at any point during the race and settled into the eighth position around the 3,400-meter mark.
- Junior Colin Motill (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) just missed the finals of the 60-meter dash with an 11th-place finish. Motill posted a time of 7.32 and was the top finisher in his heat. Senior Ezekiel Omosanya (Lagos, Nigeria/Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.)) finished 14th with a time of 7.38.
- Both relay teams recorded top-five finishes. The 4×400 team of freshman Eric Liedkta (Hamilton, N.J./Notre Dame), junior Christian Rodriguez (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey), freshman Caden Giordano (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), and junior Nicholas Grissinger (Palmyra, Pa./Milton Hershey) clocked 3:39.35 to win their heat and finish fourth overall. Motill and Liedtka joined senior Dylan O’Neil (Brownstown, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and sophomore Fredrick Tubula (Narok, Kenya/Friends Select School) to post a fifth-place finish with a time of 1:39.32in the 4×200 relay.
Coming Up
Gettysburg competes at the Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on Feb. 29-March 1.
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.