BOSTON, Mass. – Three school records fell for the Lehigh men’s track and field teams as the Mountain Hawks competed at the IC4A Championships this weekend at Boston University. Two of the men’s relay teams established new program records during prelims on Saturday.
The 4x400-meter relay team of senior Devin Monroe, sophomore Chris Watson, sophomore Justin Mahoney and junior Martin Otieno sprinted across the finish line in 3:16.71, a time nearly three seconds faster than the mark set by last year’s group. Otieno also narrowly broke the Lehigh record in the 200 meter dash by finishing the event in 21.74 seconds. The old mark set by George Evans ’04 was just 0.04 seconds slower.Monroe also competed in the 200 and 400 meter events, while Otieno posted a time of 7:09.30 in the 60 meter dash.
Sophomore Mitchell Biler, junior Kenneth Wilkinson, sophomore Daniel Paez and sophomore Gregory Caldwell competed on the men’s 4x800 meter relay squad and finished with a school best time of 7:38.15.
The strong sophomore showing continued when Chris Watson set a personal record in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:51.9 and sophomore Derek Gaul leaped 6.99 meters in the long jump. Gaul’s sixth-place finish qualified him for All-East recognition.
Others who competed for the Mountain Hawks on the men’s side included junior Sam Bernitt, who competed in the mile, junior Jimmy Miller, who finished 18th in the 5000 meters and 27th in the 3000 meters. Senior Lyle O’Brien finished right behind Miller in the 5000. Bernitt joined sophomore Steven Keith, junior Paul Ciavardelli and junior Simon Voorhees in the Distance Medley Relay.
In field events, sophomore Adelou Adesida tied for tenth in the high jump, while junior Patrick Ciez tied for 13th. Senior Chris Buck represented the Mountain Hawks in the shot put.
During Friday’s heptathlon, junior Ryan Paquin placed in the top ten in the 60 meter dash, long jump and shot put. Paquin’s time of 7.37 seconds, distances of 6.44 meters and throw of 11.77 meters respectively helped him earn 4,534 points in the competition.
The Mountain Hawks will have a couple weeks off before beginning the outdoor season, which opens up with the Big 5 Invite on March 23 in Philadelphia, Pa.