GREENCASTLE, IN – With many outstanding performances had throughout the day, the Men's Track & Field team placed 4th out of 10 scoring teams at the DePauw Indoor Classic, beating out the host school and conference rival by 5.50 points.
Junior
Andrew Maryott (East Dennis, MA) was the lone event winner for the Lynx, besting the second place finisher by two feet in the weight throw. His heave of 50'1.25” (15.27m) improved his previous personal best by 1.5 feet and reset the school record for the second time this season. Maryott also placed third in the shot put, throwing the 16 pound implement 46'11.5” (14.31m).
Despite only winning one event, the Lynx amassed points by placing at least one athlete in scoring position in fifteen of the nineteen contested events, demonstrating depth across the sprinting, distance and field disciplines. The 55m hurdles saw junior Jon Mervine (Stafford, VA) place eighth out of a field of fifteen competitors with a time of 8.57. Mervine also placed eighth in the 400m dash, finishing in 52.70. In the 55m dash, junior
Greg Palm (Merrimack, NH) ran a very solid race, finishing seventh in 6.78. The 200m dash was a very deep field with thirty-six competitors toeing the line; sophomore
Kevin Stechler (Westborough, MA) who has been having a breakout year, was eighth in the race, running a 23.54.
On the mid-distance side, senior co-captain
Anson Purdy (Wesfield, NJ) was fourth in the 600m, out-leaning the fifth place finisher by .11 seconds. His time of 1:27.82 was a personal record by two seconds. In perhaps the most competitive race of the day in which the top three finishers of the 800m all qualified for the NCAA Championships, freshman
Chris Hardy (Collierville, TN) finished fourth in a season's best time of 1:59.16. Junior
Matt Jacobs (Houston, TX) was eighth in 2:06.32. The 1,000m saw similar place finishes as freshman
Tyler Catterton (Memphis, TN) and freshman
Calvin Boesch (Ballwin, MO) also placed fourth and eighth in respective times of 2:39.35 and 2:55.01. In the mile run, sophomore
Evan Nelsen (Greenville, SC) ran a very strong last lap, passing several runners in route to a third place finish in a time of 4:28.49. Teammate junior
Chris Moore (Southlake, TX) was sixth out of the twenty-two competitors, finishing in 4:32.75.
The relay teams also fared well, with both the 4 x 200m and 4 x 400m relays placing second. The 4 x 200m team of Stechler, senior
Josh McMurray (George Grove, TN), senior
Cory Dardenne (Kingwood, TX), and Palm ran a 1:33.48 with Palm as anchor leg nearly catching the team from Bellarmine, finishing a mere .26 seconds back but a whole 2.52 seconds ahead of the third place team from Lindsey Wilson College. In the 4 x 400m race, the group of Dardenne, sophomore
David Thomas (Baton Rouge, LA), Mervine and Purdy ran a solid 3:30.34 to finish over three seconds ahead of the team from Earlham College.
In the jumping events, sophomore
Alex Lippincott (Brookline, MA) had an impressive day, placing seventh in the long jump with a distance of 20'5” (6.22m), and second in the high jump. His clearance of 6'4.75” (1.96m) equaled his season's best performance, and he very nearly cleared the NCAA qualifying standard of 6'7.5” on his last attempt.
In all, it was a successful day for the Lynx of Rhodes College. This meet concludes the indoor season, but the outdoor season starts in earnest on March 20
th when the track program hosts over twenty Division I, II, and III schools for the Rhodes Open Meet.
RESULTS 