Mountain Hawks Perform Well Across Split Squad Weekend

Friday, January 23

New York, N.Y.

Lehigh University

Dr. Sander Scorcher

Photo by: Don Paul

Mountain Hawks Perform Well Across Split Squad Weekend

1/24/2026 11:24:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

Hounds Classic Results Dr. Sander Scorcher Results

BETHLEHEM, Pa.- Lehigh's men's track and field team competed in two meets over the weekend. Half of the team was sent to the Armory in New York City to compete at the Dr. Sander Scorcher on Friday and Saturday, hosted by Columbia University. The other half stayed in Bethlehem, competing at the Moravian Hounds Classic on Saturday.

Dr. Sander Scorcher
Day one at the armory was highlighted by various personal bests across the open and invitational divisions.

The meet kicked off with the open 3000 meter races, where the top three Mountain Hawks all ran new bests. Senior Connor Malinger led the pack with a sixth place finish. He clocked in at 8:37.66, which was a huge 16-second improvement on his previous best. Junior Derek Coceano was next in 11th overall, and his time of 8:45.72 was just enough to win his heat by 18 hundredths of a second. Senior Max Leffler was not far behind, running 8:46.79 to finish 14th. The invitational 3000 also featured a personal best race by Dan Malatesta. The senior finished in 8:28.51, which placed him 24th.

The invitational 800 meter featured a magnificent race from senior Alex Heidemann. He ran 1:51.97 to place eighth overall. This was the best time he has ever ran indoors, and moved him up to fourth on Lehigh's all-time indoor performance list. He now ranks 75th in the NCAA and 58th in Division I in this event. First-year Mekhi Britt also took eighth place in the open 800. He won his head in 1:56.90, which was just shy of a new best.

Both the open and invitational pole vault divisions consisted of top performances for Lehigh. Sophomore had his best vault of the season in the open division. He flew 4.35 meters to earn a fourth place finish. In the invitational division, junior Eli Johnson soared a personal record 4.70 meters. That height earned him sixth overall, as well as a debut on Lehigh's performance list at ninth.

Day two had less action for the men, featuring athletes in only six events.

Sophomore Charlie Butler got it started on the track with a personal best run in the mile. He ran 4:21.53 to place 21st in the open division. Next on the track for Lehigh were junior Eddie Moore and sophomore Quinten Slaughter in the open 200. Moore's time of 22.67 (12th) just edged out Slaughter's 22.87 (18th). Junior Ryan Baker ended Lehigh's time on the track on day two just how his teammate started it, with a new personal best. Baker clocked 14:39.17 in the invitational 5000, which earned him 13th.

Junior Andrew Clark and senior Joe Nowakoski were Lehigh's leaders in the day two field events. Clark soared 6.41 meters in the open high jump to place 14th, and Nowakowski launched the shot put 15.89 meters to place seventh in the open division

Moravian Hounds Classic
Lehigh mightily defended its home facility at the Moravian Hounds Classic, with 21 top 15 finishes across 11 events.

The Mountain Hawks got the meet started by sweeping the podium in the distance medley relay. The team of Ben Connell, Thomas Smigo, Dan Malatesta, and Alex Heidemann led the way, running a collective time of 10:29.24.

The individual distance events consisted of multiple top performances. First-year Jacob Neimyer ran his first solo event of her college career, placing fourth in the 3000 meter race with a 9:13.73 finish. Fellow first-year Sawyer Macy was Lehigh's top runner as well in her event. He placed eighth in the mile, crossing the line at 4:29.27. Not far behind was senior Thomas Arnold who ran 4:34.01, earning him 11th. Sophomore Peter Priestner was the top placing Lehigh distance runner, as his time of 2:02.59 got him third place in the 800.

Junior Nathan Oliphant got Lehigh's lone individual track win of the day. He paced the field in the 60 meter hurdles, running 8.37.

Nick Bressi led the way for Lehigh in the 400, running 50.93 to place second. He was one of two Mountain Hawks to earn top 15 placements, as Aiden DiBuono came 12th (54.01).

Christian Saparata was Lehigh's top thrower, leading the Mountain Hawks in both the shot put and weight throw with two personal bests. The first year placed ninth in the shot put, clearing 13.88 meters. He was not the only Mountain Hawk first-year to throw for a new personal best, as Shane Tomlinson launched the shot 12.68 meters, placing 13th. Saparata's best finish was in the weight throw, as he earned his first college win with a 15.98-meter toss. Sophomore Josh Porter also placed well in 14th, throwing 12.54 meters.

First-year Konstantinos Panagopoulos highlighted the jumping events, earning two new personal bests. He placed seventh in the triple jump, souring 13.15 meters. He finished just behind senior Daniel Givens, who was Lehigh's leader in sixth (13.33m). Panagopoulos led Lehigh in the long jump in sixth. He landed his new personal record jump at 6.83 meters. Givens also performed, jumping a season's best 6.29 meters to earn 13th.

The pole vault featured two top-five finishers for the Mountain Hawks. Sophomore Sayyidakbar Akbarov tied his indoor personal record of 4.40 meters to finish third. Senior Tyson Utesch was two bar raises and two places behind him, clearing the 4.10 meter height to land in fifth.

Lehigh will be back competing at Rauch Fieldhouse next Saturday, when the Mountain Hawks face off against Lafayette in The Rivalry, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, part of Jefferson Health.