LANCASTER, Pa. - The Haverford College men's track & field team sits in fourth place with 36 total points after a strong first day of action at the Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at Franklin & Marshall Saturday.
Haverford continued its historic string dominance in the distance medley relay, capturing the crown in 10:01.55 as the team of Owen Bluman, Micah Lachman, Thomas Fendig and Simon Lane passed the baton around in the eighth-fastest performance in program history.
The Fords returned to the top of the DMR podium for the first time since 2023. This was the 21st DMR title in program history and currently sits as the 15th-fastest time in the nation at the time of publication.
Another huge moment for the Fords came in the men's 5,000 meters, where junior Luke de Valpine captured the conference title in 14:53.78 (also a season best), earning 10 crucial team points for his squad. First-year Daniel Gordon followed with a strong ninth-place finish in 15:15.94, a personal best in a high-pressure championship field. Senior Jakob Maiwald crossed in 15:40.67, while junior Torin Pelton-Flavin finished in 15:50.17, both competing in a deep opening heat.
Sophomore Raine Guidarelli turned in a personal best of 16:00.55, continuing his steady progression this season. Senior Joseph De Rosa clocked a season-best 16:06.78, and first-year Jack McCurry added another personal best to the team tally with a 16:22.07. First-year Wade Garoutte (16:26.34) and junior Gopal Patel (16:41.98) rounded out the Fords' contingent, giving Haverford one of the largest and most complete distance entries in the event.
In preliminary action, The 60-meter dash saw Niko Beros break the school record yet again, as he extended his personal best time to 7.11. Zenas Boamah also moved up the top 10 lists with the second-best time in program history (7.15). In a testament to an extremely strong CC field, neither mark qualified for Sunday's final.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Samuel Lin advanced to Sunday's final with an 8.63 in the prelims, while first-year Ian Lihani ran a personal-best 8.82 while maintaining his spot in the program top 10 at number five. Alex Geng also posted a PB (9.13), shaving time his sixth-best time in program history. Senior Jory Lee delivered a major scoring performance in the triple jump, placing third with a 14.20m leap to earn six team points, picking up a crucial bronze for the Fords on day one.
Haverford picked up five team points in the 4x200m relay, finishing fourth in 1:31.92 (Beros, Fendig, Nico Greene, Mark Tringas), the second-fastest mark in program history, and added another five points with a fourth-place finish in the 4x800m relay (Reef Kirchner, Wyatt Grace, Cole Branstrom, Oliver Barr) in 8:13.78.
In the heptathlon, Jason Mayo put together a strong all-around effort, continuing a season in which he has emerged as one of the best multi-event athletes within the conference. He opened with a 7.34 in the 60m (+765 points), added 6.24m in the long jump (+639), 11.03m in the shot put (+548), and cleared 1.58m in the high jump (+449), consistently placing among the top competitors in individual events. He currently sits in third overall entering Sunday's action. Joey Kim competed in the pole vault, clearing 3.55 meters (11 feet, 7.75 inches) to finish 11th.
Johns Hopkins (59 points), Ursinus (51 points), and Dickinson (39 points) currently sit in podium position with the Fords lurking just behind the Red Devils. The 2026 Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships will now wrap up on Sunday. The second day of the championship meet will get underway at 11 a.m. and continue through the 4x400 relay which is slated for a 3:55 p.m. start. Medal ceremonies from day two events will follow the conclusion of action on Sunday.
