Newcomer Tyler Rossi set the tone Friday by taking the lead in the heptathlon through the first four events as the Shippensburg University men's indoor track & field team began its 2025-26 season at Bucknell's Bison Opener.
 
Rossi, a sophomore transfer from Pitt competing in his first collegiate multi, compiled a score of 2,905 points to lead a field of 12 competitors. After starting out with a 60-meter dash of 7.41 seconds that tied for seventh place, Rossi delivered a second-place long jump of 22 feet, 9 ¾ inches (6.95 meters) that satisfies the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Championships qualifying standard.
 
Momentum continued into the final two events. Rossi's shot put of 42 feet, 0 ¾ inches (12.82 meters) was the top mark in the field and improved his previous indoor collegiate best by four feet. He tied for the top clearance in the high jump, getting over the bar at 6 feet, 2 ¼ inches (1.89 meters).
 
Rossi holds a 140-point lead over Carnegie Mellon's Luke Freimanis, the NCAA Division III runner-up in the heptathlon last season. Freimanis edged Mason Boyd, SU's Division II national qualifier in the heptathlon last season, by 87 points in last year's Bison Opener.  
 
Lock Haven's Nick Bellomo, who burst onto the scene last season with a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon at the PSAC Indoor Championships and a sixth-place finish in the decathlon at the outdoor championships, sits third with a score of 2,718 points.
 
Noah Bankert, who opened the night with a PR in the 60-meter dash of 7.25 seconds, sits in ninth place with 2,392 points.
 
Fellow South Western High School alumnus Jackson Hersh, the PSAC runner-up in the javelin last year, has taken up the multis for the indoor season and began his first collegiate heptathlon Friday night. Hersh totaled 2,300 points through the first four events.
 
The multi resumes at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
 
Heptathlon 60
4. Noah Bankert 7.25
T7. Tyler Rossi 7.41
11. Jackson Hersh 7.56
 
Heptathlon Long Jump
2. Tyler Rossi 22' 9 ¾" (6.95m) (PSAC)
8. Noah Bankert 19' 9" (6.02m)
9. Jackson Hersh 19' 8" (5.99m)
 
Heptathlon Shot
1. Tyler Rossi 42' 0 ¾" (12.82m)
6. Jackson Hersh 34' 6 ¾" (10.53m)
11. Noah Bankert 26' 10 ½" (8.19m)
 
Heptathlon High Jump
T1. Tyler Rossi 6' 2 ¼" (1.89m)
5. Noah Bankert 5' 10 ¾' (1.80m)
11. Jackson Hersh 5' 5" (1.65m)