Complete Results
NEW YORK - Led by 28 points from Tom Bechert (Munich, Germany), the Manhattan College men's indoor track & field team grabbed first place in the NYU Team Challenge at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center on Saturday night. Bechert won the 60 meter hurdles and pole vault, while also finishing second in the long jump. As a team, the Jaspers collected 99 points, well ahead of second-place Oneonta (86.5).
Bechert captured first place in the 60 hurdles in a time of 8.39 seconds, and his winning clearance in the pole vault was 4.80 meters (15 feet, nine inches). He then grabbed second place in the long jump with a leap of 6.79 m (22'3½). Felix Siljeback-Larsen (Vasteras, Sweden) finished just behind his teammate in the 60 hurdles. He placed third in 8.50 seconds.
Manhattan also got an event win from Ian McGinnis (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the shot put. With a toss of 15.72 m (51'7), McGinnis also qualified for the IC4A Championships in the event. Meanwhile, Rokas Kirlys (Kamaji, Lithuania) took third place (15.33 m, 50'3½). Killian Barry (Dublin, Ireland) had a solid effort in the weight throw. He secured fourth place with a 15.20 m (49'10½)-effort. In addition, Blerim Pocesta (Staten Island, N.Y.) placed seventh in the weight throw with a top mark of 13.79 m (45'3).
Trevell Moxey (Lansdale, Pa.) and Bobby Gebhard (Saddle River, N.J.) each scored points in both the long jump and triple jump. In the long jump, Moxey placed fifth (6.33 m, 20'9¼) and Gebhard was seventh (6.29 m, 20'7¾), while Moxey grabbed second place (14.03 m, 46'0½) and Gebhard took fifth (13.13 m, 43'1) in the triple jump. Mike Carroll (Nanuet, N.Y.) and Matt Perrelli (Smithtown, N.J.) both cleared 1.89 m (6'2¼) in the high jump, with Carroll being awarded third place and Perrelli fourth.
On the track, the Jaspers' strongest performance was turned in by the 4x400 meter relay squad of Tyrek Barney (Hempstead, N.Y.), Sheldon Derenoncourt (Patchogue, N.Y.), Joe Martello (Amawalk, N.Y.) and Abdias Myrtil (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.). The quartet finished in 3:22.68, which was good for second place. Individually, Martello finished fifth in the 500 meters (1:06.74) and Derenoncourt placed seventh in the 400 meters (49.73).
The Manhattan women finished sixth in the team standings with 42 points. St. John's collected 147.5 points to win the women's team competition.
Making her Manhattan debut, Milena Stoicev (Nis, Serbia) was victorious in the 1000 meters. She recorded a time of 2:59.21. Emmy Koskinen (Sodertalje, Sweden) grabbed second place in the 800 meters (2:17.57), while Ashley Bowman (Elmont, N.Y.) took fifth in the 400 meters (58.32) and Ieva Vitola (Jekabpils, Latvia) finished sixth in the 200 meters (26.12).
Lydia Wehrli (Aineres, Switzerland) qualified for the ECAC Championships in the weight throw. Her fourth-place effort was 16.14 m (52'11½). Melissa Yap (Orchard Park, N.Y.) tied for second in the pole vault, clearing 3.25 m (10'8), while Andrea Nyback (Koping, Sweden) finished fourth in the long jump (5.36 m, 17'7).
The Jaspers' first major championship meet of the indoor season is next weekend's Metropolitan Indoor Championships. The weight throw competition, as well as the pentathlon and day one of the heptathlon will be held at Draddy Gymnasium starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The meet concludes on Friday at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center, with the first event getting underway at 12 p.m.
