Friday, February 3
New York, N.Y.
Lehigh University
at
Scarlet Knight Open
Melko Ties School Record at Scarlet Knight Open
2/4/2023 10:00:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
NEW YORK - The Lehigh men's track and field team added another school record to its resume this season with senior Connor Melko tying the 3000m school record at the Scarlet Knight Open on Saturday afternoon. Melko tied James Knight's record in his second-place finish with a time of 8:10.99.Â
"Jimmy Miller was an absolute stud for our program and it is just crazy that Connor was able to match his time to the hundredth of a second over a longer race," said head coach Todd Etters. "We are going to have to make a little extra space on our record board. Connor is such a savvy racer and he makes running fast look easy. He had a rough go over the last year because of a few injuries and that experience has only made him stronger. We haven't heard the last from him this season."
On top of Melko's school record, the Mountain Hawks ended their first two-day meet weekend with three all-time additions and seven IC4A qualifiers.Â
"First of all, we are so fortunate to be able to chase the generations that came before us," Etters said. "Our program has such a strong history and for anyone to crack into the top tier of that history is humbling. I have been challenging the team to not worry about times and marks and to just simply compete hard. The times and marks are nice to see, but I am way more excited about the battles we are winning."
Lehigh opened up competition on Friday, tallying five IC4A qualifiers and two all-time additions on the first day of the meet. Prior to his school record performance on Saturday, Melko earned a second-place finish in the mile on Friday with an IC4A qualifying time of 4:10.12 to become ranked fifth all-time.Â
Following Melko's performance in the mile, Lehigh's distance runners continued to shine in the 5000m, with three runners finishing with IC4A qualifying times. Sophomore Aidan Lynch (14:38.68) led the Mountain Hawks with a seventh-place finish. Senior Tyler French (14:39.24) and fellow sophomore Kevin Harvey (14:43.66) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.Â
The Mountain Hawks had solid performances in the field events on Friday, finishing the day with three top ten performances. In the long jump, sophomore Jordan Layos finished third with a personal best of 6.88m while first-year Daniel Givens finished eighth with his own personal best of 6.76m.Â
Sophomore Skyler Mott was the third Mountain Hawk to earn a top ten performance on Friday. Mott finished second overall in the high jump with an IC4A qualifying mark of 2.04m to become tied for sixth all-time.Â
Lehigh returned to the Armory on Saturday and showed no signs of slowing down as the team wrapped up the final day of competition with another all-time performance and IC4A qualifier.Â
Senior Drew Roman picked up the Mountain Hawks' first top ten performance of the day. Roman finished the unseeded 60m race with a time of 7.18 to earn a seventh-place finish.Â
Senior Kerem Ayhan continued to add more impressive performances in his final season as a Mountain Hawk. Ayhan finished fifth overall in the 800m with an IC4A qualifying time of 1:53.19. The senior is now ranked ninth all-time in Lehigh history.Â
The Mountain Hawks continued to shine in the field events, tallying four more top ten finishes on Saturday. In the throws, sophomore Alex Clevenger finished seventh overall in the college shot put with a mark of 15.19m. Fellow sophomore Liam Lovering finished ninth overall in the shot put championship with a mark of 15.96m.Â
Lehigh's pole vaulters continued to raise the bar, adding two top ten finishes for the Mountain Hawks. First-year Carter Bartz was a top-finisher for Lehigh, finishing seventh with a mark of 4.65m. Junior Conor Reilly followed close behind, finishing ninth overall with a mark of 4.55m.Â
"A two-day meet like this is always a challenge to carry team momentum from one event to the next," said Etters. "However, it is good preparation for what we will face at the Patriot League Championship. I am enjoying the balance that our team is continuing to show. Every week we have a different event group stepping up. On Friday, our jumpers distance group stole the show, while today our middle distance group and pole vaulters stepped up. Â
"Our coaching staff is doing a really good job of putting our student-athletes in good situations," Etters continued. "However, the team deserves all the credit for taking advantage of those opportunities. "We need that to continue and we need everyone willing to put their hand in the pile."
The Mountain Hawks will return to the Ocean Breeze Complex for the second time this season for the Big Apple Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 11. Following Saturday's meet, Lehigh will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to compete in its final meet of the regular season at the Bucknell Tune Up on Friday, Feb. 17. The Mountain Hawks will wrap up the indoor season on Feb. 25-26 in Annapolis, Md. at the Patriot League Championship, which will be hosted by Navy.Â
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"Jimmy Miller was an absolute stud for our program and it is just crazy that Connor was able to match his time to the hundredth of a second over a longer race," said head coach Todd Etters. "We are going to have to make a little extra space on our record board. Connor is such a savvy racer and he makes running fast look easy. He had a rough go over the last year because of a few injuries and that experience has only made him stronger. We haven't heard the last from him this season."
On top of Melko's school record, the Mountain Hawks ended their first two-day meet weekend with three all-time additions and seven IC4A qualifiers.Â
"First of all, we are so fortunate to be able to chase the generations that came before us," Etters said. "Our program has such a strong history and for anyone to crack into the top tier of that history is humbling. I have been challenging the team to not worry about times and marks and to just simply compete hard. The times and marks are nice to see, but I am way more excited about the battles we are winning."
Lehigh opened up competition on Friday, tallying five IC4A qualifiers and two all-time additions on the first day of the meet. Prior to his school record performance on Saturday, Melko earned a second-place finish in the mile on Friday with an IC4A qualifying time of 4:10.12 to become ranked fifth all-time.Â
Following Melko's performance in the mile, Lehigh's distance runners continued to shine in the 5000m, with three runners finishing with IC4A qualifying times. Sophomore Aidan Lynch (14:38.68) led the Mountain Hawks with a seventh-place finish. Senior Tyler French (14:39.24) and fellow sophomore Kevin Harvey (14:43.66) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.Â
The Mountain Hawks had solid performances in the field events on Friday, finishing the day with three top ten performances. In the long jump, sophomore Jordan Layos finished third with a personal best of 6.88m while first-year Daniel Givens finished eighth with his own personal best of 6.76m.Â
Sophomore Skyler Mott was the third Mountain Hawk to earn a top ten performance on Friday. Mott finished second overall in the high jump with an IC4A qualifying mark of 2.04m to become tied for sixth all-time.Â
Lehigh returned to the Armory on Saturday and showed no signs of slowing down as the team wrapped up the final day of competition with another all-time performance and IC4A qualifier.Â
Senior Drew Roman picked up the Mountain Hawks' first top ten performance of the day. Roman finished the unseeded 60m race with a time of 7.18 to earn a seventh-place finish.Â
Senior Kerem Ayhan continued to add more impressive performances in his final season as a Mountain Hawk. Ayhan finished fifth overall in the 800m with an IC4A qualifying time of 1:53.19. The senior is now ranked ninth all-time in Lehigh history.Â
The Mountain Hawks continued to shine in the field events, tallying four more top ten finishes on Saturday. In the throws, sophomore Alex Clevenger finished seventh overall in the college shot put with a mark of 15.19m. Fellow sophomore Liam Lovering finished ninth overall in the shot put championship with a mark of 15.96m.Â
Lehigh's pole vaulters continued to raise the bar, adding two top ten finishes for the Mountain Hawks. First-year Carter Bartz was a top-finisher for Lehigh, finishing seventh with a mark of 4.65m. Junior Conor Reilly followed close behind, finishing ninth overall with a mark of 4.55m.Â
"A two-day meet like this is always a challenge to carry team momentum from one event to the next," said Etters. "However, it is good preparation for what we will face at the Patriot League Championship. I am enjoying the balance that our team is continuing to show. Every week we have a different event group stepping up. On Friday, our jumpers distance group stole the show, while today our middle distance group and pole vaulters stepped up. Â
"Our coaching staff is doing a really good job of putting our student-athletes in good situations," Etters continued. "However, the team deserves all the credit for taking advantage of those opportunities. "We need that to continue and we need everyone willing to put their hand in the pile."
The Mountain Hawks will return to the Ocean Breeze Complex for the second time this season for the Big Apple Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 11. Following Saturday's meet, Lehigh will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to compete in its final meet of the regular season at the Bucknell Tune Up on Friday, Feb. 17. The Mountain Hawks will wrap up the indoor season on Feb. 25-26 in Annapolis, Md. at the Patriot League Championship, which will be hosted by Navy.Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Long Jump/Triple Jump
/ Men's Track and Field
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
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