Saturday, January 21
Staten Island, N.Y.
Lehigh University
at
Villanova Invitational
Ayhan Breaks School Record During Lehigh's Two-Meet Weekend
1/21/2023 11:47:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Kerem Ayhan claimed his second school record at the Villanova Invitational on Saturday night. The senior broke Kyle Burke's 1000m record with an IC4A qualifying time of 2:24.41 in his sixth-place finish at the Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island, N.Y., the very same meet where Burke broke the school record last season. On top of Ayhan's school record, the Lehigh men's track and field team concluded Saturday with some solid performances at both the Villanova Invitational and Moravian Indoor Meet.Â
"Kerem ran an aggressive and tough race against some of the best middle-distance runners in the country," said head coach Todd Etters. "Kyle Burke had an amazing season last year and he broke so many records that he made it seem like a routine thing that happens all the time. The truth is that breaking a school record is a big deal and breaking one of Burke's records says a lot about Kerem and our middle-distance group. We will never have another Burke, but I don't think we will have another Ayhan either."
Joining Ayhan in the 1000m at the Ocean Breeze Complex were fellow seniors Connor Melko and Jacob Martinez, who both finished the race with new personal bests. Melko (2:25.28) finished seventh overall while Martinez (2:27.86) finished 13th overall. Melko and Martinez, who both finished with IC4A qualifying times, are now ranked third and ninth all-time.Â
Following his school record performance in the 1000m, Ayhan went on to capture his second top-ten performance of the night in the 4x400 relay. Seniors Douglas Cooke and Thomas Leitner and sophomore Patrez Thomas joined Ayhan in the relay, finishing seventh overall with a time of 3:24.01.Â
Thomas put up solid times on the track prior to the 4x400 relay, earning a new personal best in one event and tying his personal best in another. The sophomore finished 12th in the 400m with a PR of 50.64 and tied his PR of 22.95 in his 14th-place finish in the 200m. Lehigh continued to excel in the sprints as junior Daniel Stipanov finished seventh overall in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.52.Â
Sophomore Aidan Lynch was another Mountain Hawk who continued to excel on the track. Lynch finished fifth overall with an IC4A qualifying time of 8:24.78 in the 3000m.Â
"We had a strong performance in the 3k from Aidan Lynch who qualified for the IC4A Championship and in the 1k from Jake Martinez and Connor Melko who both surged into our top 10 list while also qualifying for IC4A," said Etters.
The Mountain Hawks continued to show their strength in the field events, placing nine student-athletes in the top ten at the Villanova Invitational. Sophomore Liam Lovering continued to dominate in the throws events, finishing second in the shot put with an IC4A qualifting mark of 16.19m to better his rank of sixth all-time, and ninth in the weight throw (15.89m). Fellow sophomore Alex Clevenger joined Lovering in the top ten of the shot put, finishing ninth with a mark of 14.62m.Â
"Liam tied for first with his best throw in the shot put," Etters said. "That throw was just one of a series of really elite throws that he made in the competition. In fact, four of his six throws were good enough to be in the top 10 of our all-time performer list. That says a lot about his consistency and focus. His best throw moves him to sixth all-time and qualifies him for the IC4A Championship."
Senior Ian Scott found himself in the top ten of both the triple and high jump at the Villanova Invitational on Saturday evening. Scott finished third in the triple jump (14.24m) and fourth in the high jump (1.95m).Â
Sophomore Mulenga Malama and first-year Daniel Givens were the two additional Mountain Hawks to earn top ten finishes in the jumps. Givens finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.82m while Malama finished tenth in the long jump with a mark of 6.35m.Â
Lehigh's pole vaulters showed no signs of slowing down as they continued to earn top ten finishes for the Mountain Hawks. Junior Conor Reilly (4.65m) finished fourth overall at the Villanova Invitational while first-year Carter Bartz (4.45m) finished sixth overall.Â
While some Mountain Hawks found success in Staten Island, N.Y., others found success in Rauch Fieldhouse where Moravian hosted its meet. Lehigh once again continued to show its strength in the field events, having seven student-athletes claim top ten finishes.Â
First-year Wil Jaques claimed Lehigh's first top ten finish on Saturday morning, finishing eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 14.11mÂ
The Mountain Hawks' jumpers continued to shine, with three student-athletes finishing in the top five at the Moravian Indoor Meet. In the high jump, seniors Brittann Pierce (1.88m) and Vincent Polignano (1.83m) finished second and fourth, respectively. Sophomore Skyler Mott added a top five performance of his own, finishing second in the triple jump with a mark of 12.87m. Fellow sophomore Gideon Coprivnicar (6.15m) was the final jumper to earn a spot in the top ten with his sixth-place finish in the long jump.Â
Coprivnicar went on to earn a top five finish in the pole vault, finishing third with a mark of 3.96m. First-year Tyson Utesch followed suit, finishing fourth overall with a mark of 3.96m.Â
On the track in Rauch Fieldhouse, Lehigh continued to dominate, adding nine more student-athletes in the top ten. First-years Connor Malinger (15:57.99) and Thomas Arnold (4:27.20)Â earned the first two top ten finishes of the day on the track, both finishing sixth in the 5000m and mile, respectively.Â
Lehigh excelled in the 800m with three Mountain Hawks finishing in the top ten. First-year Noah Kim led the way with his third-place finish in 1:58.46. Senior Ryan Wycherley followed close behind Kim, finishing fourth with a personal best of 1:59.71. First-year Henry Burd was the final Mountain Hawk to compete in the 800m, finishing with a time of 2:01.25 to earn a tenth-place finish.Â
In the final three track events of the day, Lehigh went on to claim three more top five performances. In the 3000m, first-year Max Leffler finished fifth with a time of 8:58.10.Â
Senior Amondo Lemmon (23.19) continued to put up solid times on the track as he finished second overall in the 200m at the Moravian Indoor Meet. Fellow senior Jack Bush finished sixth overall with a time of 23.94.Â
Lehigh wrapped up the Moravian Indoor Meet with a second-place finish in the distance medley relay with Wycherley, Kim and Burd running along with senior Riley Williamson.Â
"This was our first weekend of the season where we had our teams split and competing at two different meets," Etters said. "It was great to see some of our best student-athletes put up elite performances. We are going to need that to continue and we have some other men that are capable of doing the same. This will be a big week for us with Lafayette visiting on Saturday and we will need to adjust to classes getting underway for the semester. I am really looking forward to seeing how the team comes together against Lafayette. It just doesn't get better than a dual meet to see who will step up."
The Mountain Hawks will return to Bethlehem to host rival Lafayette inside Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday, January 28 in the Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute.Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
"Kerem ran an aggressive and tough race against some of the best middle-distance runners in the country," said head coach Todd Etters. "Kyle Burke had an amazing season last year and he broke so many records that he made it seem like a routine thing that happens all the time. The truth is that breaking a school record is a big deal and breaking one of Burke's records says a lot about Kerem and our middle-distance group. We will never have another Burke, but I don't think we will have another Ayhan either."
Joining Ayhan in the 1000m at the Ocean Breeze Complex were fellow seniors Connor Melko and Jacob Martinez, who both finished the race with new personal bests. Melko (2:25.28) finished seventh overall while Martinez (2:27.86) finished 13th overall. Melko and Martinez, who both finished with IC4A qualifying times, are now ranked third and ninth all-time.Â
Following his school record performance in the 1000m, Ayhan went on to capture his second top-ten performance of the night in the 4x400 relay. Seniors Douglas Cooke and Thomas Leitner and sophomore Patrez Thomas joined Ayhan in the relay, finishing seventh overall with a time of 3:24.01.Â
Thomas put up solid times on the track prior to the 4x400 relay, earning a new personal best in one event and tying his personal best in another. The sophomore finished 12th in the 400m with a PR of 50.64 and tied his PR of 22.95 in his 14th-place finish in the 200m. Lehigh continued to excel in the sprints as junior Daniel Stipanov finished seventh overall in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.52.Â
Sophomore Aidan Lynch was another Mountain Hawk who continued to excel on the track. Lynch finished fifth overall with an IC4A qualifying time of 8:24.78 in the 3000m.Â
"We had a strong performance in the 3k from Aidan Lynch who qualified for the IC4A Championship and in the 1k from Jake Martinez and Connor Melko who both surged into our top 10 list while also qualifying for IC4A," said Etters.
The Mountain Hawks continued to show their strength in the field events, placing nine student-athletes in the top ten at the Villanova Invitational. Sophomore Liam Lovering continued to dominate in the throws events, finishing second in the shot put with an IC4A qualifting mark of 16.19m to better his rank of sixth all-time, and ninth in the weight throw (15.89m). Fellow sophomore Alex Clevenger joined Lovering in the top ten of the shot put, finishing ninth with a mark of 14.62m.Â
"Liam tied for first with his best throw in the shot put," Etters said. "That throw was just one of a series of really elite throws that he made in the competition. In fact, four of his six throws were good enough to be in the top 10 of our all-time performer list. That says a lot about his consistency and focus. His best throw moves him to sixth all-time and qualifies him for the IC4A Championship."
Senior Ian Scott found himself in the top ten of both the triple and high jump at the Villanova Invitational on Saturday evening. Scott finished third in the triple jump (14.24m) and fourth in the high jump (1.95m).Â
Sophomore Mulenga Malama and first-year Daniel Givens were the two additional Mountain Hawks to earn top ten finishes in the jumps. Givens finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.82m while Malama finished tenth in the long jump with a mark of 6.35m.Â
Lehigh's pole vaulters showed no signs of slowing down as they continued to earn top ten finishes for the Mountain Hawks. Junior Conor Reilly (4.65m) finished fourth overall at the Villanova Invitational while first-year Carter Bartz (4.45m) finished sixth overall.Â
While some Mountain Hawks found success in Staten Island, N.Y., others found success in Rauch Fieldhouse where Moravian hosted its meet. Lehigh once again continued to show its strength in the field events, having seven student-athletes claim top ten finishes.Â
First-year Wil Jaques claimed Lehigh's first top ten finish on Saturday morning, finishing eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 14.11mÂ
The Mountain Hawks' jumpers continued to shine, with three student-athletes finishing in the top five at the Moravian Indoor Meet. In the high jump, seniors Brittann Pierce (1.88m) and Vincent Polignano (1.83m) finished second and fourth, respectively. Sophomore Skyler Mott added a top five performance of his own, finishing second in the triple jump with a mark of 12.87m. Fellow sophomore Gideon Coprivnicar (6.15m) was the final jumper to earn a spot in the top ten with his sixth-place finish in the long jump.Â
Coprivnicar went on to earn a top five finish in the pole vault, finishing third with a mark of 3.96m. First-year Tyson Utesch followed suit, finishing fourth overall with a mark of 3.96m.Â
On the track in Rauch Fieldhouse, Lehigh continued to dominate, adding nine more student-athletes in the top ten. First-years Connor Malinger (15:57.99) and Thomas Arnold (4:27.20)Â earned the first two top ten finishes of the day on the track, both finishing sixth in the 5000m and mile, respectively.Â
Lehigh excelled in the 800m with three Mountain Hawks finishing in the top ten. First-year Noah Kim led the way with his third-place finish in 1:58.46. Senior Ryan Wycherley followed close behind Kim, finishing fourth with a personal best of 1:59.71. First-year Henry Burd was the final Mountain Hawk to compete in the 800m, finishing with a time of 2:01.25 to earn a tenth-place finish.Â
In the final three track events of the day, Lehigh went on to claim three more top five performances. In the 3000m, first-year Max Leffler finished fifth with a time of 8:58.10.Â
Senior Amondo Lemmon (23.19) continued to put up solid times on the track as he finished second overall in the 200m at the Moravian Indoor Meet. Fellow senior Jack Bush finished sixth overall with a time of 23.94.Â
Lehigh wrapped up the Moravian Indoor Meet with a second-place finish in the distance medley relay with Wycherley, Kim and Burd running along with senior Riley Williamson.Â
"This was our first weekend of the season where we had our teams split and competing at two different meets," Etters said. "It was great to see some of our best student-athletes put up elite performances. We are going to need that to continue and we have some other men that are capable of doing the same. This will be a big week for us with Lafayette visiting on Saturday and we will need to adjust to classes getting underway for the semester. I am really looking forward to seeing how the team comes together against Lafayette. It just doesn't get better than a dual meet to see who will step up."
The Mountain Hawks will return to Bethlehem to host rival Lafayette inside Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday, January 28 in the Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute.Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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