TERRE HAUTE, Indiana – Three Earlham runners in the points in the day's first completed event set the tone for Earlham College men's track and field at Saturday's 2020 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, resulting in the Quakers finishing second out of 10 teams with 108 points.
The second-place finish is Earlham's best showing at an HCAC indoor meet, improving one spot upon last season's third-place standing.
Sophomore Austin Burt won the 5000m run with a time of 15:40.63, taking an individual championship in the day's first final. He was joined in the points by junior Noah Scherf (4th, 15:52.13) and junior Bineyam Tumbo (7th, 16:08.38), with the three combining for 17 points.
MEET: 2020 HCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
LOCATION: Terre Haute, Indiana – Sports & Recreation Center
MEN'S FINISH: 2nd out of 10 teams (108 pts.)
ON THE TRACK
Burt and Scherf garnered more points for Earlham in the 3000m run, where Burt finished second (9:02.54) and Scherf was seventh (9:12.55).
Earlham's only other first-place finish for the men came in the distance medley relay, where the team of Henry Foultner, Daryn Strub, Michael Grady, and Cade Orchard posted a time of 10:49.15.
Sophomore Jake Patton took second place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.46 seconds, setting a new Earlham record. First-year Abraham Sadiq was fifth in the 60m dash after crossing the line in 7.25 in the finals. Sadiq recorded a time of 7.19 in his preliminary heat.
Patton also took second place in the 200m dash with an Earlham record time of 23.21 seconds. Sadiq joined him among the points in the 200m, finishing eighth in a time of 23.77 seconds.
Junior Ian Shriner recorded a second-place finish in the 800m run, posting a time of 2:00.44
Earlham had multiple point-earners in the 400m dash, with junior Drew FitzGibbon and junior Emanuel Faria placed third (51.96 seconds) and eighth (53.62 seconds) respectively.
Orchard earned a single point for Earlham in the mile run, where he finished eighth with a time of 4:40.77.
In the relay events, the Earlham team of Michael Grady, FitzGibbon, Strub, and Shriner finished second in the 4x400m with a time of 3:32.27, and the Quakers' four-some of Sheldan Lindsay, FitzGibbon, Patton, and Sadiq ran to a fifth-place showing in the 4x200m with a time of 1:35.72.
IN THE FIELD EVENTS
Patton tallied third place in the triple jump with a mark of 40-1 1/4 (12.22m) and was fifth (19-11 3/4, 6.09m) in the long jump.
First-year Blessed Shumba also picked up points in both the long jump and high jump; he was third in the high jump after clearing the bar at 6-4 (1.93m) and was also third in the long jump at 20-4 1/4 (6.20m).
UP NEXT: Earlham men's track and field will begin its outdoor season on Saturday, March 21, when the Quakers head to California to compete in the Point Loma Nazarene Invitational.
