The Muhlenberg track and field teams opened their outdoor season on a cold, windy day at the Lafayette Open.

The meet consisted of five Division I, one Division II and two Division III schools. Many of the Mules were held out of the meet, but those that competed put up some impressive performances, especially considering the weather conditions.

The men had two first-place finishes. Sophomore Trevor Hitchcock (pictured above right) won the 400 meters and set a personal best of 52.79 despite running into a huge headwind on the back straightaway. Sophomore Noel House won the javelin in his first meet since his junior year of high school. His throw of 178-6 in his Mule debut is the eighth-best in program history and surpassed the regional qualifying standard.

Sophomore Dylan DeMagistris finished second among Division III competitors with the second-best hammer throw ever by a Mule. His mark of 145-0 was an astounding improvement on his previous PR of 119-7.

Junior Russell Neuwirth placed seventh in the 100 and the 200, narrowly missing the top 10 on the all-time performance list in both.

For the women, senior Corrin Ferrizzi broke the school record in the hammer with a throw of 119-2, topping the previous mark of 111-11. The jumper-turned-thrower Ferrizzi now owns school records in the triple jump indoors and the hammer outdoors.

Senior Kayleigh Durning (pictured above left) was the highest finisher on the women's team, coming in sixth in the high hurdles. Sophomore Annabel Jacobs was eighth in the 100 meters.

Junior Lily Benanchietti set an outdoor personal best of 9-0¼ in the pole vault, moving into a tie for sixth place in the Muhlenberg all-time performance list.

Despite competing with a limited number of athletes, the Mule teams combined for 23 Centennial Conference-qualifying performances.

complete results men | women

Muhlenberg Placewinners (women)
100m: 8. Annabel Jacobs, 13.50
100m hurdles: 6. Kayleigh Durning, 16.61
4x400m: 7. Annabel Jacobs, Kayleigh Durning, Corrin Ferrizzi, Kayla Morisi, 4:50.86
Pole vault: 8. Lily Benanchietti, 9-0¼

Muhlenberg Placewinners (men)
100m: 7. Russell Neuwirth, 11.15
200m: 7. Russell Neuwirth, 22.82
400m: 1. Trevor Hitchcock, 52.79; 7. Viet Le, 58.20
4x400m: 7. Trevor Hitchcock, Russell Neuwirth, James Nye, JJ Ramirez-Rojas, 3:42.16
Long jump: 5. John Panny, 21-7¼; 6. Connor Fenstermaker, 20-0¼
Triple jump: 5. Jacob Brick, 36-3
Hammer: 9. Dylan DeMagistris, 145-0
Javelin: 1. Noel House, 178-6; 7. Tim DiGuglielmo, 140-7
Pole vault: 5. Jarred Ford, 11-11¾