By Nick Forbes Asst. sports editor
The annual SU Challenge, held on Feb. 3, saw multiple top-10 finishes from both the men’s and women’s track and field teams. Nineteen top-10 finishes to be exact.
Two of the many stars of the show for the men included freshman Chris Petraskie and senior Matthew Gass, who each earned first place finishes.
Petraskie held down the high jump for Susquehanna with a winning height of 6’3 1/2”.
Gass made his presence known not only at Susquehanna but in the nation when he finished with a time of 50.60 in the 400-meter dash. The finish ranks among the 40 best nationally.
Among the other 11 top- 10 finishers for the River Hawks were sophomore Rakee Cromwell and freshman Robert Marks who joined Petraskie by placing fifth and 10th, respectively, in the high jump.
Marks also earned third place in the long jump with a leap of 21’ 8”. Sophomore Shamar Nelson from Frostburg State took first.
Juniors Joshua Brown and Victor Gonzalez also accounted for strong finishes. Brown placed sixth in the shot put and Gonzalez took fourth in the 60-meter hurdles.
Susquehanna earned 10th place finishes from seniors Torin McFarland, Ryan Bertsch, and junior John DeLuca in the 800-meter, weight throw and pole vault, respectively.
Six of the top-10 finishers for the River Hawks came from the women’s team.
The highest individual placing of the day for the women came from senior Jasmine Mitchell in the 60-meter dash. Mitchell earned third with her time of 7.91 and joined Gass in being nationally ranked.
Mitchell also took sixth in the 200-meter dash.
Another third place finish for Susquehanna included the 4×400 relay team. Senior Hannah Perkins and junior Hannah Stauffer were joined by freshmen Samantha Reed and Toni Alexander in posting a time of 4:21.18.
In the mile event, Stauffer posted a sixth place finish, but was beat by junior teammate Amy Kaschak, whose 5:21.91 finish was enough to earn fourth in the event.
Just missing the top-10 cutoff was Perkins, who finished 11th in the 400-meter dash and senior Keirnan Dougherty who took 15th in the 800-meter dash.
Both teams will have two weeks off before hosting the SU Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 18.
The Lanmark Championships are Saturday, Feb. 25.
