The West Chester University men’s track and field team was back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Rams had runners compete in both the DeSchriver Invitational hosted by East Stroudsburg and the Villanova Invite at Ocean Breeze on Saturday afternoon.
At the DeSchriver, sophomore Ralph Casper (York, Pa./York Suburban) recorded a pair of first-place finishes. He won the shot put competition with a toss of 54 feet 4 ¾ inches that qualified him for the NCAA Provisional, and he also won the weight throw competition with a Pennsylvania State Athletic (PSAC) qualifying mark of 56-7 ¼.
Andrew Puz (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) also performed well in the pole vault, as he registered a mark of 12-11 ½.
Another first-place finisher for the Golden Rams was Dylan Smiley (Phoenixville, Pa./ Phoenixville), who captured first place in the 3000-meter run with a PSAC qualifying time of eight minutes and 58.47 seconds.
Orion Frazier (Abington, Pa. /Abington) also took home first place honors as he won the 400-meter dash with a PSAC qualifying time of 51.15 seconds.
In the 200m dash, Trenu Johnson (Southampton, Pa./Council Rock South) registered a PSAC Qualifying time of his own as he finished in third place with a time of 23.38 seconds.
In the Villanova invite, Joseph Hawkins (Allentown, Pa.Parkland) ran a PSAC qualifying time of 8.68 in the 60-meter hurdles, which was good enough for a ninth-place finish against a strong Division I field.
Josh Coakley (Honeybrook, Pa./Twin Valley) also had an impressive performance as he finished in eighth with a PSAC qualifying time of 4:17 in the one-mile run.
The Golden Ram’s next competition will be at the Fast Track Invitational at Ocean Breeze on February 8th. The team then has a week-long break until the Kutztown 6 Team Qualifier.