The Shippensburg University men's track & field team won its tenth consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Conference Championship on Sunday, claiming the 2020 league title by winning eight events and totaling 171 points in competition at Edinboro University's Mike S. Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome.
 
It is the 13th PSAC title overall for the Raiders in the 19-year history of the indoor conference championships. Shippensburg scored in 15-of-18 events (3K, pole vault and heptathlon were lone exceptions) and posted 31 scoring performances over the course of the two-day meet.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Aaron Arp Jr. was named the 2020 PSAC Indoor Championships Outstanding Track Athlete. Arp started his day finishing second to senior teammate Charles Bowman in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.22 seconds. About 30 minutes later, Arp came back and won the conference title in the 400 meters – setting a school record and breaking the championships meet record in the process. Arp won in 47.40 seconds – beating the field by 1.5 seconds. His day ended as the opening leg of the victorious 4x400-meter relay that won in 3:18.10.
 
Freshman Drew Dailey was named the 2020 PSAC Indoor Championships Most Valuable Athlete. Dailey began his day with a conference title in the mile, surging with a final kick to a win by 0.49 seconds in 4:21.10. About 90 minutes later, Dailey won the 800 meters by nearly two seconds in a time of 1:55.37. The two league titles come after anchoring SU's victorious 4x800-meter relay on Saturday night.
 
Dailey is just the second man in league history to win both the mile and 800 in the same year at the PSAC Indoor Championships, joining Mansfield's Mike Robinson (2014).
 
There were myriad highlights, but the stars of the weekend were the Raider sprinters and hurdlers. Assistant coach Doug Knol's squad scored 86 points from just five events (16 in the 60, 16 in the 200, 23 in the 400, 21 in the 60 hurdles, 10 in the 4x4 relay), and won league titles in three of them.
 
The SU sprints/hurdles squad, if split into their own team, would have tied for second place at the meet with Slippery Rock and only ranked behind East Stroudsburg (123.5 points). The rest of the Shippensburg team scored 85 points.
 
The sports information director figures the easiest way to summarize it all is to give a breakdown by event, so here goes, beginning with the Raider conference champions:
 
400 METERS (ARP WINS WITH MEET RECORD): The signature performance of Arp's award-winning weekend was his school-record run in the 400 meters; his time of 47.40 seconds is a new championships meet record that moved him up to 12th on the national leaderboard. His previous record and PR was 47.55 seconds. Freshman Stephon Brown finished second to Arp in a time of 48.90 seconds. Sophomore Josh Booth made it back-to-back personal bests in the 400, claiming fourth place on a time of 49.74 seconds. All three men were making their PSAC indoor debuts at 400 meters.
 
60-METER HURDLES (BOWMAN WINS): One day after setting the all-time PSAC record during prelims (7.78 seconds), redshirt-senior Charles Bowman came back Sunday to claim his second consecutive PSAC title with a win in 7.92 seconds. Arp, granted a chance to run in a two-heat final after his Saturday prelim run was disrupted, finished second with a time of 8.22 seconds. Senior Conner Oldt finished sixth – his best hurdles finish at the conference meet – with a PR of 8.40 seconds. It is the second career scoring performance (7th in 2018) and the third Top 10 finish for Oldt (9th in 2019).
 
MILE (DAILEY WINS): The first of his two wins en route to the Most Valuable Athlete Award, Dailey hung with Pitt-Johnstown's Connor Harriman for much of the race and then surged ahead to claim the PSAC title in the mile with a time of 4:21.10. It's the third consecutive year that a Raider has won the conference title in the mile – Dominic Stroh was the 2018 and 2019 champion. Freshman Alexander Ermold reached the awards podium with a fifth-place finish in 4:24.55.
 
800 METERS (DAILEY WINS AGAIN): Dailey had more than enough left in the tank to come back about 90 minutes after his mile and win the 800 meters in a time of 1:55.37 – winning by nearly two full seconds over Bloomsburg's Tyler Bailey. Freshman Joseph Bujdos had an excellent conference debut and finished fourth in 1:57.43.
 
4x400-METER RELAY: The Shippensburg quartet of Arp, Brown, Booth and Bowman won by nearly four full seconds. The Raiders won in 3:18.10, with East Stroudsburg second in 3:22.03.
 
TRIPLE JUMP (JENKINS DEFENDS TITLE): Redshirt-sophomore Shamar Jenkins successfully defended his conference championship in the triple jump with a victorious mark of 48 feet, 9 inches (14.86 meters) that came on his first attempt. Junior Shaquille Mitchell placed seventh on a top mark of 45 feet, 1 inch (13.74 meters) that came on his second attempt. It is Mitchell's third straight year scoring in the event (6th in 2019, 4th in 2018). An interesting note of this year's competition is that of the Top 6 finishers, five posted their best mark on their first attempt.
 
60 METERS: Sophomore Roland Miles was the runner-up in finals that was comprised entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Miles earned an All-PSAC classification with a time of 6.82 seconds. It is his second straight All-PSAC classification after a third-place finish last year. Sophomore EJ Dorwil took fourth in 6.96 seconds and freshman Eric Kirk finished sixth in 7.01 seconds. Herman Kirkland's school record of 6.79 seconds remains intact for another year. IUP's Dre Carr, tied for fifth on the national leaderboard, won the conference title with another NCAA automatic qualifying time of 6.72 seconds.
 
200 METERS: The Raiders put four in the Top 8, with Brown leading the charge in a third-place time and collegiate best of 22.11 seconds. Bowman, who ran his collegiate best (21.85 seconds) in Saturday's prelims, took fourth place in 22.14 seconds. Miles was fifth in 22.26 seconds, and Kirk eighth in 22.48 seconds. In all, a 16-point event for the Raiders. Kutztown's George Weems ran 21.87 seconds for the title – the finals was comprised of seven freshmen or sophomores with Bowman the lone upperclassman.
 
SHOT PUT: Shippensburg had four in the shot put finals and placed 6-7-8, with junior Jacob Gieringer narrowly missing his third straight scoring performance after achieving a ninth-place finish. Senior Cam Strohe took sixth on a top put of 48 feet, 9 inches, marking his third career scoring performance (8th in 2019, 4th in 2018). Sophomore Brooks Bear finished seventh with a top throw of 48 feet, 6 inches, and sophomore Pat Maloney placed eighth on a top mark of 48 feet, 3 ½ inches.
 
HIGH JUMP: Shippensburg had two men on the awards stand for the high jump. Freshman Kenny Rhyne finished seventh and sophomore Jordan Winslow eighth, as both men got over the bar at 6 feet, 4 inches (1.93 meters). Places 5-10 all had a top clearance of 6 feet, 4 inches, with the amount of misses coming into play to determine the standings. Rhyne needed his third and final attempt at 6-2 to clear and then cleared 6-4 on his second attempt. Winslow cleared 6-2 on his first attempt but needed his third and final attempt to achieve a 6-4 clearance. It's the second straight year Winslow scored in the high jump (sixth last season).
 
SHIP's 2020 ALL-PSAC INDOOR AWARD WINNERS (18):
Aaron Arp Jr. (1st in 400, 2nd in 60 hurdles, 1st in 4x4 relay)
Josh Booth (1st in 4x4 relay)
Charles Bowman (1st in 60 hurdles, 1st in 4x4 relay)
Stephon Brown (3rd in 200, 2nd in 400, 1st in 4x4 relay)
Joseph Bujdos (1st in 4x8 relay)
Drew Dailey (1st in 800, 1st in mile, 1st in 4x8 relay)
Alexander Ermold (1st in 4x8 relay)
Cole Harris (1st in 4x8 relay)
Shamar Jenkins (1st in triple jump)
Roland Miles (2nd in 60)
Cam Strohe (1st in weight throw)
Sunday Finals
 
60
2. Roland Miles 6.82 (NCAA 'P')
4. EJ Dorwil 6.96
6. Eric Kirk 7.01
 
200
3. Stephon Brown 22.11
4. Charles Bowman 22.14
5. Roland Miles 22.26
8. Eric Kirk 22.48
 
400
1. Aaron Arp Jr. 47.40 (NCAA 'P') (Meet Record) (School Record)
2. Stephon Brown 48.90
4. Josh Booth 49.74
 
800
1. Drew Dailey 1:55.37
4. Joseph Bujdos 1:57.43
 
Mile
1. Drew Dailey 4:21.10
5. Alexander Ermold 4:24.55
 
3K
12. Nate Kaplon 9:12.59
13. Kevin Wagner 9:18.39
 
60 Hurdles
1. Charles Bowman 7.92 (7.78p – Conference Record)
2. Aaron Arp Jr. 8.22
6. Conner Oldt 8.40
 
4x4 Relay
1. Aaron Arp Jr., Stephon Brown, Josh Booth, Charles Bowman 3:18.10
 
High Jump
7. Kenny Rhyne 6' 4" (1.93m)
8. Jordan Winslow 6' 4" (1.93m)
 
Triple Jump
1. Shamar Jenkins 48' 9" (14.86m) (NCAA 'P')
7. Shaquille Mitchell 45' 1" (13.74m)
 
Shot Put
6. Cam Strohe 48' 9" (14.86m)
7. Brooks Bear 48' 6" (14.78m)
8. Pat Maloney 48' 3 ½" (14.72m)
9. Jacob Gieringer 47' 6 ½" (14.49m)
11. Josh Herbster 44' 9" (13.64m)
 
Heptathlon
9. Isaiah Barnes 4117
 
Saturday Finals
 
5K
7. Nate Kaplon 15:47.74
 
4x800 Relay
1. Joseph Bujdos, Cole Harris, Alexander Ermold, Drew Dailey 7:54.76
 
Distance Medley Relay
6. Kevin Wagner, Chase Carpenter, Ryan Fegley, Joshua Jackson 10:44.10
 
Pole Vault
No entries
 
Long Jump
6. Nate Reed 22' 6 ½" (6.87m)
14. Shamar Jenkins 21' 3 ½" (6.49m)
15. Eric Kirk 20' 11 ¾" (6.39m)
EJ Dorwil FOUL
 
Weight Throw
1. Cam Strohe 61' 0 ¼" (18.60m) (NCAA 'P')
5. Pat Maloney 54' 8 ¼" (16.67m)
6. Brooks Bear 54' (16.46m)
12. Josh Herbster 50' 8 ¾" (15.46m)
15. Jacob Gieringer 46' 8" (14.22m)