Track and field begins outdoor season with nine wins

Shippensburg University’s track-and-field teams began their outdoor season at home on Saturday, participating in the Keystone Challenge at Seth Grove Stadium. The men’s and women’s teams combined for nine event wins in a meet that featured several NCAA Division I schools including Bucknell, Lehigh and St. Francis.

The men’s team won six events, with one of the highlights being sophomore Gabriel Lewis taking the 100 meters at 10.59 seconds. The result puts Lewis in a tie for fifth place in Shippensburg history for the event. Lewis was also part of the victorious 4x100-meter team, along with sophomore Bernard Bell III, freshman Jae Galloway and freshman Logan Rodkey.

Senior Robbie Hrabosky II took first place in the 400 hurdles at 54.43 seconds, leading home redshirt sophomore teammate Travis Wilk for an SU 1-2. The final track win for the men’s team went to senior Ian Sherlock, leading the pack with a 9:23.88 effort in the 3,000 steeplechase.

Freshman Jackson Hersh starred in his collegiate debut, winning the javelin with a throw of 201 feet, 2 inches. This earned him an NCAA provisional qualifier. Sophomore Ridge Crispino was also victorious in the field, taking the hammer throw title at 175 feet, 9 inches.

Shippensburg’s women’s team earned three event wins on the day, with two of them courtesy of senior Sasha Lee. Lee placed first in the 100 hurdles at 14.47 seconds, along with winning the triple jump at 39 feet, 10.5 inches. Both efforts qualified her for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships, while the triple jump result was enough to earn an NCAA provisional qualifier.

Junior Madison Malcolm picked up her first event win of the season in the 400 hurdles, clocking in at 1:05.15, also a PSAC qualifier.

The two teams combined to earn 29 PSAC qualifiers, with two Raiders earning multiple. Freshman Josef Book qualified for two hurdle events, and sophomore Donovan Kitchen qualified in the shot put and discus.

Shippensburg’s outdoor track-and-field teams will continue their season next weekend in the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational at Lynchburg University. The two-day event begins at noon on Friday, before resuming at 9 a.m. on Saturday.