RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After the first day of the Metropolitan Indoor Championships, the Manhattan College men's track & field team sat in first place with 30 points. The Jaspers held the lead at the conclusion of the weight throw and pole vault, which were held on Thursday at Draddy Gymnasium.
Manhattan earned 18 points in the pole vault. Decathlete Tom Bechert (Munich, Germany), competing in one of his strongest events, won the event with a leap of 4.92 meters (16 feet, 1¾ inches). Brian McGovern (Yonkers, N.Y.) took third with a clearance at 4.80 m (15'9), while Yardley Keshinover's (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) 4.35 m (14'3¼)-effort was good enough for seventh place.
In the weight throw, Anastas Papazov (Balchik, Bulgaria) held the lead until the final throw of the competition, when he was passed by Southern Connecticut State's Arthur Guerra. Papazov did earn eight team points with his second-place showing of 18.46 m (60'6¾). In addition, Killian Barry (Dublin, Ireland) had his best throw of the season, 15.63 m (51'3½), to capture fifth place.
Competition in the heptathlon also got underway on Thursday. Felix Siljeback-Larsen (Vasteras, Sweden) had 2867 points after four events, giving him a 50-point lead over Fordham's Sam Houston.
On the women's side, Manhattan collected 13 team points with a 2-4 finish in the pole vault. Melissa Yap (Orchard Park, N.Y.) took second place with a 3.30 m (10'10) clearance, and Sarah Moore (Irvington, N.Y.) placed fourth after leaping 3.15 m (10'4).
The remainder of the meet will be held on Friday at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center. Action gets underway with the 5000 meters at 12 p.m.
