Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship Preview

Posted: Feb 24, 2023

The 2023 Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships are set for Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26 at Schnader Fieldhouse on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College. The two-day event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and continue through Sunday afternoon with 19 events on both the men's and women's sides.

Nine-time defending champion Johns Hopkins will look to claim its 10th consecutive championship this weekend. The Blue Jays defeated second-place Ursinus by 30.8 points in last year's championship meet. Haverford is the lone CC team ranked in the USTFCCCA national rankings at No. 23. Hopkins is rated first in the Mid-Atlantic region, while the Fords (3), Ursinus (6), McDaniel (6), and Dickinson (7) are also among the top ranked teams in their respective regions.

The last team other than Hopkins to hoist the Centennial men's indoor trophy was Haverford in 2012. In the 28-year history of the Centennial indoor meet, Haverford owns the most team titles with 17, followed by Hopkins (9), Dickinson (1) and Franklin & Marshall (1).

Five conference records fell during the regular season. Haverford's Ryan Kredell, fresh off an individual title and Runner of the Year honors from the fall cross country season, set a new CC standard in the 5,000 meters on Jan. 27. Kredell will compete in the 3,000 this weekend. Ursinus' Payton Stanziani broke the 600-meter record (1:21.56) on Jan. 27 and two weeks later anchored the record-breaking 4x400 relay (3:17.13) for the Bears along with Daniel Tabor, Devon Greaves, and Collin Ney. Isaiah Battle of Ursinus set a new weight throw mark (17.75m) on Jan. 27 and will aim for repeat gold in that event this weekend. McDaniel's Tyren Proctor has reset the CC 60 hurdles mark several times this winter, most recently breaking his own record on Feb. 17 with a time of 8.30. Proctor is the defending champion in the 60 hurdles.

Battle and Proctor are part of a group of five individuals that will attempt to defend their individual titles this weekend at F&M. Other returning champions looking for repeat performances include McDaniel's Anders Madsen in the 800, Dickinson's Ethan Hart in the shot put and JHU's James Reilly in the heptathlon. Haverford's Jamie Moreland is the two-time defending champion and championship record holder in the mile, but will compete in the 800 at this year's championship.