FAIRFAX, Va. – Highlighted by freshman Donavan Anderson surpassing a 27-year-old school record in the long jump, the East Stroudsburg University men's track and field team put forth a strong performance at the Dalton Ebanks Invitational on Saturday at George Mason Stadium.
Along with setting the program record that was previously held by Rob Stone at 24-7 since 1996, the two-time All-American took first place in the event and recorded a NCAA provisional mark at 7.56m (24-9 ¾). The Bergenfield, N.J. native ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with his performance and now holds ESU's long jump records for both indoor and outdoor.
Adding additional PSAC automatic qualifying marks and times for ESU was Zandrew Bowe (400m), Daniel Smith (triple jump), Carlos Pepin (high jump), Joshua Meshach (discus)
Running Highlights
The Warriors got the track events underway with the 4x100m as the relay team of Raul Esteves, Jared Williams, Miguel Charlery and Zandrey Thompson recorded a third place finish with a time of 41.87.
Kobe Jenkins continued to impressive as the junior took third in the 110m hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.88.
Charlery returned to the track for the 200m as the freshman took fourth place with a time of 21.91.
In the 400m, Bowe clocked a PSAC qualifying time of 49.62 on his way to taking eighth in the event.
Caleb Carney finished just outside the top-10 in the 400m hurdles, coming in 11th with a season-best time of 56.00.
Field Event Highlights
The highlight of the day for the Warriors came in the sand pit as Anderson broke the school and meet records in the long jump. Jack Gorham rounded out the top-10 with a mark of 6.40m (21-0).
In the triple jump, Gorham secured a third place finish with a season-best mark of 13.72m (45-0 ¼) and Smith was fifth with a conference qualifying leap of 13.03m (42-9).
The Warriors had a trio of top-10 finishers in the high jump as Aaron Sanchez led the way as the runner-up with a height of 1.93m (6-4). In his season debut for ESU, Pepin cleared the bar at a PSAC qualifying mark of 1.88m (6-2) to take sixth and Smith was tied for seventh place at 1.83m (6-0).
With a number of throwers competing in the discus, Cole Gorham paced ESU in third with a season-best throw of 49.97m (163-11), while Meshach added a PSAC qualifying throw of 41.81m (137-2).
Zach Nissley represented ESU in the javelin and took sixth after recording a throw of 57.91m (190-0).
On Friday, Daryn Blackwell took third in the hammer throw with a 55.09m (180-9) and while Isaac Almoney secured a third place finish with a mark at 53.78m (176-5).
Lehigh Games Highlights
The distance runners competed at the Lehigh Games on Saturday with Brian McGarrity pacing the Warriors in the 1500m, taking ninth place at 4:05.02. Landon Boyle (16th - 4:08.72), Evan Wooby (22nd - 4:18.26) and Alejandro Paez (28th - 4:41.90) also competed in the event for ESU. In the 800m, Emmanuel Gitonga placed 13th at 1:59.78 and Justin Walters was in 27th with a time of 2:07.62.
Up Next
The Warriors head to Bucknell next weekend for the three-day Bison Outdoor Classic which begins on Friday, April 14
