LANCASTER, Pa.- The Juniata men's track and field team made their second trip to Franklin & Marshall College of the indoor season for the Blue and White Invitational. Lincoln Riddle and Barrett Walters achieved new top-five marks in program history in the 400-meter race and weight throw, respectively. Three others set personal records on the day.
The Eagles competed in five track events and two field events.
On the track side, Juniata ran in the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the 400-meter race, the 3000-meter race, and the 4X400-meter relay.
Lincoln Riddle's third 400-meter race as an Eagle produced the fourth-best time in program history as the freshman rounded out the podium in third place of 32, finishing with a time of 52.62. He knocks 0.58 seconds off his previous best set at Houghton to open the season in December.
The trio of John Redos, Caleb Massare, and Zion Gomez each set personal records in the 200-meter dash. Redos again posted the best time by an Eagle, finishing in 12th place of the 52 competing with a time of 24.17. He sets a new personal best, reducing his previous best by three-hundredths of a second set at Houghton in December. Massare followed with a time of 25.23 to finish in 25th place. It's also a new personal record for Massare, who finished the 200-meter dash in 25.40 two weeks ago at F&M's Mini-Dip Invite. Gomez completed the race in 26.04 for a 35th-place showing. Gomez sets a new personal record improving on a 26.18 that was also set at the Mini-Dip Invite.
The trio of Redos, Massare, and Gomez also ran the 60-meter dash, and Redos led them. He finished in 7.44 for a 16th-place showing of 55 competitors. He was 0.01 off his personal best set at Houghton in December. Gomez followed with a time of 7.61 to slot into the 25th position. It's Gomez's best time of 2022-23 by nine-hundredths of a second. Massare rounded out the finishers for Juniata in 38th place with a time of 7.77.
Ellis Kline logged his first indoor 3000-meter time finishing in 10:30.34 for a 20th-place showing.
The team of Redos, Riddle, Massare, and Gomez finished seventh out of 18 teams that competed in the 4X400-meter relay with a time of 3:44.72. They shaved 2.72 seconds off the first 4X400-meter time set this indoor season at F&M two weeks ago today.
Of the field events, three Eagles competed in the weight throw, while one competed in the shot put.
Barrett Walters' weight throw attempt of 14.32 meters placed him in fourth place of 34 in the event for a new personal record, staying third in program history. He improves on his previous best of 13.93 meters set at the Moravian University Indoor Meet on Lehigh's campus in mid-January. Brenden Nauman threw 10.41 meters on his first attempt to finish in 21st. Luke Bittner rounded out the Eagles with a 9.37-meter throw on his final attempt that ties him for 25th place, 0.08 meters off his personal-best throw, and 1.49 meters better than his throw two weeks ago at Franklin & Marshall.
Bittner also took part in the shot put, throwing 8.67 meters to finish in 36th place. It's 0.37 meters off his personal best, but he improved on the last outing, where he fouled on all three attempts.
The Juniata men's track and field team returns to competition next Saturday, February 18th for the SU Tuneup at Susquehanna University. It's the last competition for Juniata before the Landmark Indoor Championships at Susquehanna on February 25th.
