Josh Herbster (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Garrett Quinan (Stewartstown, Pa./Kennard-Dale) won conference titles Sunday as the Shippensburg University men’s indoor track & field team kickstarted its league title defense at the 2024 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships being held at Lehigh University’s Rauch Fieldhouse.
Shippensburg sits in second place in the team standings with 43 points after Day 1 and is 1.5 points behind rival Slippery Rock. SU is in position for a strong second day as it advanced eight of its 11 qualified sprinters and hurdlers from prelims into finals.
Herbster competed in the weight throw for the fourth and final time at the PSAC Championships and came away with his first conference title in the event. His victorious throw of 63 feet is the second-farthest of his career, with his PR of 63 feet, 8 ¼ inches earlier this season at Bucknell remaining the school record and his PR. It is Herbster’s third straight All-PSAC finish, having placed third last year and second in 2022.
Quinan kicked strong en route to his 5K victory – his first indoor conference crown after a runner-up finish last season as a freshman. His time was 15:04.61, which beat Cal’s Jon Thrush by three seconds. It marks the third straight year that Shippensburg has won the 5K, but a different Raider has won it each year.
Hayden Hunt (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area), who won the 5K last year, finished third Sunday in 15:09.46. It is Hunt’s third straight All-PSAC finish in the indoor 5K, as he finished third in 2022. Chayce Macknair won in 2022.
Mo Whittle (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) achieved his third consecutive All-PSAC finish in the long jump, taking the runner-up spot in 2024 on a top mark of 23 feet, 5 ½ inches. Whittle was third last year and the champion in 2022. Jak Kearney (Bensalem, Pa./Roman Catholic) finished eighth with a jump of 22 feet, 6 ½ inches, achieving a team point despite passing in the finals in order to prepare and compete in the 400-meter prelims.
Robert Lissner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) stepped away from the heptathlon to have a successful series in the pole vault, ultimately placing fifth in a suspenseful competition by clearing 15 feet, 7 ¼ inches. For Lissner, the performance marks a huge PR of 4 ¼ inches that moves him from four-way tie for sixth place in SU history up to sole possession of fourth place in the school record books. It is the highest clearance by a Raider vaulter in 14 years.
SU received a spirited effort in the distance medley relay, as Ryan Scicchitano (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest), Travis Bigham (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area), Jackson Gutekunst (York, Pa./Dallastown) and Ryan Wolfe (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) teamed up for a sixth-place time of 10:32.72.
Assistant coach Doug Knol had his sprinters and hurdlers ready to run. Jeovaughni Daniel (Newtown Square, Pa./Episcopal Academy (Marymount)) and Bernard Bell III (Hanover, Pa./South Western) qualified 1-3 in the 60-meter hurdles. Daniel crushed his PR once again, this time by two-tenths of a second, and his prelims effort of 8.12 seconds will have him as the top seed in Monday’s finals. It moves him up past Ori Rinaman into fourth all-time at Shippensburg. Bell III’s time of 8.25 seconds keeps him at sixth in school history.
Lavar Jackson (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) and Eric Kirk (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) qualified for the finals of both the 60 and 200 meters. Jackson is the No. 3 seed in the 60 and the No. 2 seed in the 200, while Kirk is the No. 8 seed in the 60 and the No. 6 seed in the 200. Whittle joins both men in the 60-meter dash finals as the No. 7 seed.
Kearney is the No. 7 seed in Monday’s 400-meter finals.
SU’s three other weight throwers, all freshmen, set collegiate bests Sunday. Gian Greggo (Pen Argyl, Pa./Pen Argyl) placed eighth, contributing a point to the team score with his throw of 50 feet. Donovan Kitchen (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) was ninth on a throw of 48 feet, 10 ¾ inches, while Ridge Crispino (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) finished 12th on a throw of 48 feet, 2 inches.
Monday’s action begins at 11:30 a.m. with the resumption of the heptathlon, in which SU currently sits 2-3-5-11.
SUNDAY (DAY 1) RESULTS
FINALS
5K
1. Garrett Quinan 15:04.61
3. Hayden Hunt 15:09.46
14. Kevin Wagner 15:41.03
18. Nathan Harding 15:51.86
19. Aiden Gonder 15:59.93
Distance Medley Relay
6. Ryan Scicchitano, Travis Bigham, Jackson Gutekunst, Ryan Wolfe 10:32.72
Long Jump
2. Mo Whittle 23’ 5 ½” (7.15m)
8. Jak Kearney 22’ 6 ½” (6.87m)
12. Darien Ressler 21’ 7 ½” (6.59m)
14. Teagan Weaver 21’ 0” (6.40m)
Pole Vault
5. Robert Lissner 15’ 7 ¼” (4.76m)
Weight
1. Josh Herbster 63’ (19.20m)
8. Gian Greggo 50’ (15.24m)
9. Donovan Kitchen 48’ 10 ¾” (14.90m)
12. Ridge Crispino 48’ 2” (14.68m)
PRELIMS
60
3. Lavar Jackson 6.87q
7. Mo Whittle 6.95q
8. Eric Kirk 6.96q [6.956 to 6.958]
15. Herb Quarterman 7.12
200
2. Lavar Jackson 22.13q
6. Eric Kirk 22.37q
400
7. Jak Kearney 50.75q
11. Travis Bigham 51.04
15. Robbie Hrabosky II 51.68
60 Hurdles
1. Jeo Daniel 8.12q
3. Bernard Bell III 8.25q