Presidents Compete In First-Ever PAC Indoor Invitational; School Records Continue To Fall
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Seven different Presidents won titles Thursday night as Washington & Jefferson College participated in the first-ever Presidents’ Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Invitational at Youngstown State University.
Westminster won the women’s team title with 153 points, while Thomas More (134) captured the men’s championship.
Waynesburg was the runner-up on the women’s side with 139 points followed by W&J (110), Bethany (44), Geneva (43), Thomas More (32) and Chatham (7). The W&J men (68) placed fourth, behind Waynesburg (110) and Bethany (94), and ahead of Thiel (56), Westminster (55) and Geneva (40).
The Washington & Jefferson women earned seven total first-place finishes, including two each by juniors Cheyenne Mangold (Boerne, Texas/Texas Military Institute) and Harley Straub (Richfield, Pa./Juniata).
Mangold took top honors in the 200 (26.04, 1st of 26 runners) and 400 (58.60, 1st of 11) meter events. Her 200-meter time broke her own school record set earlier this season. Straub posted winning throws in the shot put (38’10 1/4”, 1st of 25) and eight throw (39’8”, 1st of 11).
Freshman Brittney Traynor (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) continued her strong season in the sprint events, finishing first in the 25-member, 60-meter dash field with another school-record time of 8.04 seconds. Sophomore standout Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) won the mile run (5:11.94) in school-record fashion, while junior Erin Oberg (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) finished first of 11 in the high jump (5’0 1/4”).
Seniors Gavin Donathan (Hurricane, W.Va./Hurricane) and Jared Jones (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) both collected titles for the W&J men. Donathan topped the 25-man field in the weight throw (48’4 3/4”), while Jones sprinted past the field in the 60 meters (7.07) and set a school record. Jones also took third place in the 200 meters (22.77).
The Presidents’ distance relay team of seniors Benjamin Kopchick (Clarksburg, Pa./Saltsburg) and Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East), sophomore Joshua Makepeace (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) and freshman Nico DeMaio (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) also ran to a first-place winning time of 10:36.67. That time eclipsed the previous school record by over seven seconds.
