Josh Herbster successfully defended his conference title in the hammer throw on Thursday as the Shippensburg University men's outdoor track & field team had a strong start to the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Millersville's Biemesderfer Stadium.
 
Herbster unleashed a season best of 193 feet, 2 inches on his third attempt of the day to ultimately win the conference championship and make it two years in a row with the league crown in the hammer after winning at Seth Grove Stadium last season. He is the first Raider in history to win multiple conference championships in the hammer throw.
 
Four Raiders ended up on the awards stand for the hammer, as the Raiders placed 5-6-7 in the event. Brooks Bear placed fifth with a top throw of 173 feet, 8 inches, while Alec Rideout threw 167 feet, 11 inches and Pat Maloney was seventh in 163 feet, 4 inches.
 
Three Raiders scored in the 10K to close out the track action Thursday night, with Aiden Gonder pacing the Raiders with an impressive fourth-place run of 31:30.54. Hayden Hunt and Chayce Macknair each scored in the event for the second straight year, with Hunt finishing sixth in 31:34.90 and Macknair taking eighth in 31:41.57.
 
Mason Boyd and Robert Lissner completed half of the decathlon on Thursday, with Boyd sitting in second place through the first day 89 points off the lead. Boyd started out with a PR in the 100 meters of 11.07 seconds and had another excellent bookend by running the 800 meters in another PR of 49.46 seconds. In between, Boyd contributed solid marks in the long jump and high jump.
 
Competition resumes Friday at 10 a.m. with the continuation of the decathlon.
 
10K
4. Aiden Gonder 31:30.54
6. Hayden Hunt 31:34.90
8. Chayce Macknair 31:41.57
11. Nate Kaplon 32:37.01
12. Nathan Harding 32:50.38
19. Kevin Wagner 33:32.21
 
Hammer
1. Josh Herbster 193' 2" (58.88m)
5. Brooks Bear 173' 8" (52.93m)
6. Alec Rideout 167' 11" (51.18m)
7. Pat Maloney 163' 4" (49.79m)
16. Logan Parker 128' 2" (39.08m)