HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College track & field team opened its home slate with the annual Seamus McElligott Invitational on Saturday inside Alumni Field House, posting standout performances across a bevy of events.
The Fords were particularly sharp in the short sprints. In the men's 60 meters, Haverford placed seven athletes, led by sophomores Niko Beros (5th, 7.22) and Nico Greene (6th, 7.24). Greene set a new personal record, moving into a tie for sixth all-time in program history. Thomas Fendig followed closely in 15th (7.38), with Derek Linden (23rd, 7.54), Jonah Hoffmann-Weitsman (29th, 7.74), first-year Kofi Kim (35th, 7.89), and senior Hongyi Zhang (41st, 9.23) rounding out the field.
Over the hurdles, sophomore Samuel Lin paced the Fords with an eighth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.70). First-year Ian Lihani followed with a new PR, improving his standing among the program's top 10 performers (8th, 8.84), while junior Alex Geng added a 19th-place effort (13.41).
Fendig delivered one of Haverford's top sprint performances of the day in the 200 meters, placing second overall in 23.02. Greene added a sixth-place finish (23.60), while Lihani (17th, 24.40), Mark Tringas (20th, 24.50), Lin (27th, 25.09), Jackson Juzang (30th, 25.28), Hoffmann-Weitsman (35th, 25.96), Xan White (36th, 26.00), and Zhang (44th, 32.00) provided strong depth for the Fords.
Wyatt Grace highlighted the middle distances with a fourth-place finish in the 800 meters (2:04.35), while first-year Josue Laurore followed in 14th (2:10.07).
The mile featured a large Haverford contingent, led by first-year Simon Lane (4:13.48) and senior Micah Lachman (4:13.93), who finished just seconds apart. Luke de Valpine (4:20.64), Will Tew (4:27.36), Jakob Maiwald (4:30.20), Oliver Barr (4:35.52), Reef Kirchner (4:36.45), Wade Garoutte (4:37.43), Nicky Elias-Gillette (4:42.84), Raine Guidarelli (4:43.26), Deven Abrams (4:45.18), Gabriel Bernstein (4:45.66), Liam Deimler (4:47.90), Jack McCurry (4:57.09), Ben Aaron (5:09.16), and Garrett Miyagawa (5:17.72) also completed the event for the Fords.
Lane and Lachman currently sit 14th and 15th, respectively, on the NCAA Division III Indoor Qualifying lists based on those mile performances.
Distance standout Owen Bluman claimed the win in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:32.85. First-year Cole Branstrom followed with an impressive runner-up finish (8:35.31), while Daniel Gordon placed sixth (8:56.40). Bluman's time currently ranks 35th nationally, while Branstrom logged a top-50 national mark at 45th following Saturday's action.
In the field events, senior Jory Lee enjoyed a banner day, winning the triple jump with a mark of 13.95 meters (45 feet, 9.25 inches) and placing fourth in the long jump (6.48 meters / 21 feet, 3.25 inches).
Tringas (5th, 6.44m / 21 feet, 1.5 inches), Juzang (7th, 6.17m / 20 feet, 3 inches), Jason Mayo (9th, 6.09m / 19 feet, 11.75 inches), and first-year Peter Beredjiklian (14th, 5.28m / 17 feet, 4 inches) also contributed in the long jump. In the shot put, first-years Kofi Kim (11th, 9.81m / 32 feet, 2.25 inches) and Kyler Lee (12th, 9.45m / 31 feet) gained valuable experience. Joey Kim (12th, 3.50m / 11 feet, 5.75 inches) and Mayo (14th, 3.20m / 10 feet, 6 inches) represented the Fords in the pole vault.
The meet concluded with a strong showing in the 4×400 relay, as the Haverford quartet of Tew, Barr, Lane, and Grace finished second in 3:38.40, capping a productive and encouraging day for the Fords.
Haverford returns to action on February 1 at the Widener Schuylkill Showdown, hosted at Penn's Ott Center in University City.
