Track and Field look to continue success against Lafayette

Lehigh men’s track and field will compete against rival Lafayette in an outdoor track meet on Lafayette’s turf on April 2.

Lehigh will enter the meet following a dominant performance over Lafayette in an indoor track meet on Jan. 28, when the Mountain Hawks beat the Leopards by a score of 118-60, marking Lehigh’s ninth consecutive indoor victory over their rivals.

During this meet, Lehigh gained a large lead against Lafayette, winning five of the six field events.

Sophomore thrower Liam Lovering contributed a win in shot put with a score of 16.62 meters.

Lovering added three more points to the meet score against Lafayette in the weight throw when he finished in second place with a mark of 17.45 meters.

Lovering also achieved personal bests on March 18 at the Penn Challenge when he finished in the top 10 at the outdoor invitational in both the hammer throw and discus throw.

He said competing at Penn allowed him to ease back into the feel of the outdoor season.

“The goal of the meet was to get out there and (beat my personal record) to get some of the rust off,” Lovering said. “I had a bit of a rough first throw that was under my old best, but had a decent second throw that got me into finals to improve my old (personal record) by 4 meters.” 

First-year jumper Daniel Givens also performed well in field events against Lafayette, finishing third behind two of his Lehigh teammates in the long jump with a score of 6.07 meters while also winning the triple jump with a score of 13.10 meters.

On the track, senior distance runner Connor Melko won two events: the 1-mile run with a time of four minutes and 14 seconds and the 4×800-meter relay. 

His team, consisting of first-year Thomas Arnold, first-year Henry Burd and senior Ryan Wycherley, combined for a time of eight minutes and four seconds to beat Lafayette’s time of eight minutes and 25 seconds.

Junior high jumper Eli Aaronson finished third in the Lafayette meet behind senior teammates Ian Scott and Brittann Pierce. 

After finishing fourth in the indoor championships for the fifth year in a row, Aaronson said he has confidence the team can sustain their success in the spring.

“Track and field is primarily an individual sport, but by pushing each other, we can get the best outcomes,” Aaronson said.

Senior sprinter Drew Roman finished third in the 60-meter dash and finished second in the 200-meter dash. 

He said when it comes to their Lafayette meet and overall improvement, their success will require mental strength.

“We trust in our coaches for what we do at practice,” Roman said. “Something that I could do better for the rest of the season (is) controlling what I can control and just stop doubting.”

Last spring, Lehigh’s men’s team won the outdoor meet against Lafayette 117-86 after winning 13 events at the Goodman Track and Field Complex. 

After the duel meet against Lafayette, Lehigh will compete in several invitationals throughout April and May. They will host the Lehigh Games meet at the Goodman Track and Field Complex on April 7 and 8.