Aldana, Beidleman Earn Seconds, School Records at Mount St. Mary's
EMMITSBURG, Md.--The Hood College men’s track & field team traveled 20 miles up Route 15 to compete in Saturday’s Eric Kloiber Invitational, hosted by Mount St. Mary’s University. Hood was the only NCAA Division III institution in the field of eight teams.
High finishes on the day were recorded by Nick Aldana and Michael Beidleman. Aldana got things going with a new school record 15.40 in the 110 Hurdles to finish second on the day, lowering the record he set last season of 15.45. He returned later in the program to turn 58.50 to place ninth in the 400 hurdles, tying teammate Naseem Zietoon’s school record.
Running in the second section of the 200, Beidleman jetted out of the blocks and into the lead 50 meters into the race. Out in lane eight and unable to see the other competitors, he sprinted alone to a 22.30. The time was solid enough to place him second overall. In the process, he lowered Ola Komolafe's record of 22.55 set at the 2010 Capital Athletic Conference Championships. Beidleman also placed sixth at 400 meters.
Brett Shelley gave chase to the school record in the 1500, coming up just 0.40 seconds short in running a solid 4:12.69.
"Every once in a while, you need to do this," said head coach Brent Ayer. "Not every sport is able to compete outside of its NCAA classification. So, when you get the chance to see what these athletes look like and how they compete, you should take it.
"I was pretty impressed with the performances of Michael and Nick. It was cool and breezy, not generally regarded as the conditions for fast sprinting times, but they performed well."
Justin Cifuentes and Matt Dyjack set new personal bests for the Blazers in the 1500.
"This was fun, very competitive for us, but fun," concluded Ayer. "We will get another little taste of this in two weeks at the University of Delaware."
Before that, however, the Blazers travel to McDaniel College for the first of two Twilight Meets on Wednesday April 4.
