The Grove City College men's track and field team captured its second straight Presidents' Athletic Conference title Friday evening by concluding the two-day championships with 164 team points. Grove City held off runner-up Washington & Jefferson by 18 points at West Virginia University's Mylan Park.
Sophomore sprinter Alex Mitchell (Hummelstown, Pa./Harrisburg Christian) earned the meet's Most Valuable Performer award as well as the Track MVP honor after accumulating 25.5 individual points. Head coach Jessica Cooper earned the conference's Coach of the Year award.
Grove City athletes won six events at the Championships, with Mitchell earning two victories. Mitchell won the 200 meters in a time of 21.61 seconds, then won the 400 meters in a conference- and school-record time of 48.02 seconds. He also contributed to Grove City's victory in the 1600 relay by joining sophomore Isaac Young (Jordan, Minn./Jordan), senior Tyler Eagan (Concord, N.C.) and sophomore Isaac Busler (Butler, Pa./Butler). That foursome posted a winning time of 3:25.69.
Three field performers also secured wins. Senior Gabe Dunlap (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) won the javelin with a best throw of 185 feet, 8 inches. Senior Nick Gustafson (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg) captured the shot put with a best mark of 48-11.
Meanwhile, junior Nick Petucci (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) won the triple jump with a mark of 45-8 1/2. That is the third-ranked triple jump in Grove City history.
Dunlap, Mitchell, Eagan and sophomore Greg Wilson (Akron, Ohio/Revere) earned second in the 400-meter relay with a school-record time of 42.86 seconds.
Junior Ryan Lenhart (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) placed second in the shot put (48-9) while sophomore Ethan Wiley (Mercer, Pa./Mercer) captured runner-up in the javelin with a top throw of 179-5. Sophomore Tucker Owens (Gainesville, N.Y./Letchworth) cleared 12-9 1/2 in the pole vault to earn second place.
Sophomore Michael Singley (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) finished third in the 3000 steeplechase with a time of 9:38.09, which ranks No. 3 all-time at the College. Young took fourth in the 800 with a time of 1:56.73, also No. 3 in program history. Dunlap also finished fourth in the long jump with a best mark of 21-4 while senior J.D. Black (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) placed fourth in the javelin (168-2). He also placed fourth in the discus with a best throw of 137-6.
Sophomore Luke Roberts (Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls) finished fourth in the 10,000 Thursday night with a time of 32:43.53. Sophomore Michael Chambers (Bridgeville, Pa./Canon-McMillan) placed fourth in the pole vault by clearing 12-3 1/2. Dunlap and Eagan tied for fifth in the pole vault as each man cleared 11-9 3/4.
Junior Will Herman (Woolwich, Maine/Cheverus) took fifth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 58.78 seconds. Freshman Max Ware (Winchester, Va./Handley) earned fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:02.61. Busler finished sixth in the 800 (1:58.03) while Lenhart placed sixth in the discus (130-0). Eagan earned sixth in the triple jump with a best leap of 40-6 1/4.
Black finished seventh in the shot put with a heave of 44 feet, 1/2 inch. Grove City also produced a seventh-place finisher in each hurdle event. Senior Cory Boyer (Annville, Pa./Annville-Cleona) finished seventh in the 110 hurdles (16.14) and junior Andrew Coffee (Salem, Ohio/West Branch) took seventh in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.37 seconds. He finished one spot ahead of sophomore Alex Barbetta (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) who finished eighth in a time of 59.45 seconds.
Junior Alex Hemmerlin (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) placed eighth in the steeplechase (10:16.53) while junior Jonah DeWitt (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) placed eighth in the 5000 with a time of 15:57.53. Dunlap earned eighth in the triple jump (40-1 1/2) while Mitchell finished eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.85 seconds.
Eagan took eighth in both the javelin (158-5) and long jump (20-4 1/2).
Grove City scored in 17 of 19 events. Twenty-two men scored for the Wolverines.
Grove City also won the indoor conference championship in February. It is the first time in school history that Grove City has won both the men's indoor and outdoor championship in the same year.