Four Red Raiders Qualify in 200 Meters at Bison Open, Richards Third in 60-Meter Hurdles
Jan. 27, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Bernie Richards (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern York) placed third in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles to highlight the Shippensburg University men's track and field team's competition on day one of the Bison Open hosted by Bucknell University in Gerhard Fieldhouse on Friday.
Using a split squad at both the Bison Open and the Penn State National Open in University Park, Pa., the Red Raiders had four runners qualify for the finals of 200-meter dash at the Bison Open while junior Nate Reider (York, Pa./Dallastown) finished 12th in the weight throw at the Penn State National Open.
Sophomore Jamal James (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led Shippensburg's performance in the 200 meters, posting the third-fastest qualifying time with a mark of 22.96 seconds, a mere three-tenths of a second behind Steve Hixson of Kutztown University in second-place. Freshmen James Wilson (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) and Sean Cohick (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, while junior Ryan Koppenheffer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) placed 11th.
The Red Raiders almost had five qualifiers in the 200-meter dash, but sophomore Alex Terrell (Cardiff, Wales/Radyf Comp), who tied with Akil Stokes of Millersville University for the final qualifying spot in a time of 23.27 seconds did not advance to Saturday's final.
Richards placed third in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.71 seconds, fourth-tenths ahead of freshman Anthony Hankerson (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) in fifth. Richards posted the second-fastest time in the preliminaries while Hankerson was fourth. Freshman Mike Murphy (Reamstown, Pa./Cocalico) and freshman Brian Kauffman (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) also advanced to the finals.
At the Penn State National Open, Reider had a mark of 51-feet, 8 1/2-inches to place 12th in the weight throw while sophomore Mark Anderson (Nanty Glo, Pa./Central Cambria) was 21st with a throw of 48-feet, 11 3/4-inches, over three inches farther than his season-best set on December 3 at the Bison Opener.
Junior David Green (Waynesboro, Pa./South Western) showed the biggest improvement in the weight throw, improving his season-best by nearly three feet from the DuCharme Invitational on December 10. He placed 23rd with a mark of 48-feet.
The Red Raiders will conclude competition in both the Bison Open and Penn State National Open on Saturday.
- Red Raider Track and Field -
