MEMPHIS, TN - After two days of intense competition, the Men's Track & Field Team claimed second place at the SCAC Championship. Trailing only Centre College, the Lynx amassed 152 points, outpacing rival Trinity University by a mere seven points, and well ahead of DePauw University, and schools from Colorado, Millsaps, Sewanee, Oglethorpe, Southwestern, and Hendrix.
Senior
Andrew Maryott (East Dennis, MA) took home Athlete of the Meet honors by virtue of scoring the most cumulative points out of any athlete at the championships. He captured first place in the shot put with a distance of 47'6.5” (14.49m), first place in the discus (149'6” – 45.57m), and first in the hammer with a throw of 167'9” (51.14m). His distance in the hammer established a new conference record, bettering the old mark by over ten feet. In all, Maryott collected thirty individual points, and is the first athlete in SCAC history to win three throwing events at the conference meet.
Senior Griffin Salzer's (Beaufort, SC) victory in the javelin with a distance of 178'3” (54.33) meant Rhodes won every throwing event at the meet, a feat few, if any, schools have matched in the conference's history.
Also claiming first place honors was junior
Kevin Stechler (Westborough, MA) in both the 100m and 200m dashes. In stunning fashion on both occasions, Stechler outsprinted last year's defending champion, the produce the first 100m-200m double conference victory for Rhodes in over ten years.
Senior
Jonathan Mervine (Stafford, VA) has a busy weekend as he won the 400m hurdles in a time of 54.55 seconds, placed second in the 110m hurdles with a 15.45, was fifth in the 400m dash (51.46 seconds), and anchored the 4x400m relay squad comprised of sophomore
Tyler Catterton (Germantown, TN), sophomore Dan Sutherland (Dallas, TX), and sophomore
Josh Blount (Austin, TX) to a second place finish in a time of 3:26.93.
Senior
Chris Moore (Southlake, TX) had his best meet of the season to claim victory in the 3,000m steeplechase and place eighth in the 5,000m run. His time of 9:40.27 in the steeplechase was a lifetime best, made all the more impressive by the competitiveness of the race and the smart racing tactics he employed.
In all, it was a fantastic two days of competition, with many standout performances in all events. While a handful of athletes will continue on in pursuit of a birth into the national championships in May, this meet concludes what was a truly fantastic regular season for the Lynx.
