The Shippensburg University men's track & field team began the 2017 outdoor season with six NCAA provisional-qualifying throws highlighting an excellent opening benchmark for the Raiders in competition at the Fred Hardy Invitational hosted by the University of Richmond.
 
Beginning with the shot put, juniors Alec Rideout and Bryan Pearson were national qualifiers in the event last year, and yet each man set new collegiate bests with their 2017 openers. As a result, both throws hopefully put the men in strong position for NCAA outdoor championship qualification.  
 
Rideout made it two straight meets with a PR, as he improved his 2016 NCAA Outdoor Nationals throw by seven inches with a second-place mark Friday of 56 feet, 8 inches. Pearson improved his PR by one inch, finishing third on a strong throw of 55 feet, 4 ¾ inches. His previous best came last year in winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Championships.
 
Senior Caleb Bartlett put forth a sturdy benchmark in the hammer, his signature event, with a NCAA provisional-qualifier of 188 feet, 2 inches. Pearson also notched a conference qualifier in the event, recording a hammer throw of 173 feet, 5 inches.
 
Shippensburg entered the year with a lot of excitement for the javelin, and assistant coach Kurt Dunkel's group certainly did not disappoint on Friday in their 2017 opener. SU had all six of its throwers on the day satisfy the PSAC qualifying standard – including three with NCAA provisional marks.  
 
All-American Derek Nothstein paced the Raiders, throwing 204 feet, 10 inches – an excellent start for senior who is looking to make it four NCAA Championships appearances in four years.
 
SU had three freshmen make their collegiate debuts on Friday, and two of them notched NCAA provisional qualifiers. Alec Stimson finished third, ripping a throw of 193 feet, 1 inch for an excellent debut. Only six inches behind was Ben Hurda, whose throw of 192 feet, 7 inches placed fourth.
 
Sophomore Jake Rohm finished eighth in the competition, narrowly missing his PR on a throw of 178 feet, 10 inches. Freshman Tommy Haas debuted with a throw of 175 feet, 1 inch, while sophomore Adam Zeiders had a top mark of 170 feet, 10 inches.
 
Also in the field, graduate Pat Manna cleared 13 feet, 11 ¾ inches for a fifth-place finish and a PSAC qualifier.
 
On the track, sophomore Dominic Stroh finished second in the 1,500 meters with an excellent time of 3:55 that is just 0.58 seconds off his collegiate personal best set last year at the Paul Kaiser Classic. Sophomore Connor Holm ran a PSAC qualifier in the event of 4:04.01.
 
Junior Alex Balla broke the 33-minute mark to pick up his PSAC qualifier in the 10K, winning the event in 32:44.45.
 
Freshman Devonte Pickett had a solid debut in the 400-meter hurdles in obtaining a conference qualifier of 57.31 seconds. Sophomore Calvin Dennis also had a PSAC qualifier by running 57.45 seconds.
 
Competition resumes Saturday morning from Richmond.

1500
2. Dominic Stroh 3:55.00 (PSAC)
Connor Holm 4:04.01 (PSAC)
Matt Gross 4:09.04
David Snyder 4:11.08
Brian Iatarola 4:15.37
Alec Brand 4:22.72
 
5K
8. Rob Moser 15:39.93
 
10K
1. Alex Balla 32:44.25 (PSAC)
 
400H
Devonte Pickett 57.31 (PSAC)
Calvin Dennis 57.45 (PSAC)
David Brantley 58.18
 
Pole Vault
5. Pat Manna 13' 11 ¾" (4.26m) (PSAC)
Kyle Baughman 12' 11 ¾" (3.96m)
 
Shot Put
2. Alec Rideout 56' 8" (17.27m) (NCAA 'P')
3. Bryan Pearson 55' 4 ¾" (16.88m) (NCAA 'P')
Caleb Bartlett 44' 0 ¾" (13.43m)
 
Hammer
1. Caleb Bartlett 188' 2" (57.35m) (NCAA 'P')
3. Bryan Pearson 173' 5" (52.86m) (PSAC)
Tyler Hewitt 129' (39.33m)
 
Javelin
1. Derek Nothstein 204' 10" (62.43m) (NCAA 'P')
3. Alec Stimson 193' 1" (58.86m) (NCAA 'P')
4. Ben Hurda 192' 7" (58.70m) (NCAA 'P')
8. Jake Rohm 178' 10" (54.52m) (PSAC)
Tommy Haas 175' 1" (53.37m) (PSAC)
Adam Zeiders 170' 10" (52.09m) (PSAC)