By Lee Finkelstein

The Kutztown men and women’s track and field team traveled to Coastal Carolina University this weekend. Senior Zach Fleming took first place in the 3000-meter steeplechase on Friday and set an NCAA Division II provisional mark of 9:14.91 to highlight the team’s day at the Shamrock Invitational at Coastal Carolina.

Fleming was only a few seconds off from beating his own record of 9:11.04 that he set last season, which is the second fastest in KU history.

Richard Gatewood also qualified for the PSAC postseason for the Golden Bears, earning 10th place in the long jump with 6.59m.

Two sophomores set career-bests in the 800-meter run. Naeb Mengisteah finished in seventh place (1:59.58) while his teammate Devonte King followed closely behind with a time of 1:59.69.

Tyler Matunis and Lucas Kristofits both concluded the decathlon event, which had started on Thursday. Matunis took third place individually in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 1500-meter, while setting personal bests in all five events.

A pair of Golden Bears from the Kutztown University women’s track and field team landed on the KU top-ten list for the heptathlon on the second day of the Shamrock Invitational at Coastal Carolina.

Christina Descano earned sixth place in the heptathlon with a career-best 4,040 points, while teammate Vicki Schaffer’s career-best 3,805 points moved her into 18th place. The two athletes rank eighth and ninth on KU’s all-time outdoor ranks. Individually, Descano exceled in the long jump, taking second place and qualifying for PSACs with a 5.31-meter jump.

As a team, KU posted six more PSAC-qualifying marks throughout the day. On the track, junior Torrey Hollis qualified and placed 18th in the 100-meter hurdles (15.66).

The Golden Bears also had a successful day in the field. In the hammer throw, Rosealine Farrell placed seventh in the ‘A’ competition and qualified with a 48.7-meter heave. In the ‘B’ competition, Nicole Wildermuth also qualified, taking 11th place.

Rachel Eshleman’s 1.6-meter high jump met qualification standards and left her in sixth place in the ‘A’ competition. Destiny Distasio finished out the KU qualifiers, taking 13th place in the pole vault.

Overall, the Golden Bears had a very strong showing on Friday.