Men's Track and Field 2/3/2025 10:05:00 AM

Two Records Set at Walt Cramer Open

Bourbonnais, IL: The Hawks men's track and field team put on a strong showing at the Walt Cramer Open, held at the Perry Center at Olivet Nazarene University. Among the standout performances, Alek Ledezma earned the Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Week honor after setting a new Harper record in the 60m dash, finishing 2nd with a time of 7.01 seconds. Ledezma also competed in the 200m, running his season debut in a solid 23.09 seconds.

On the track, Ledezma was joined by three other Hawks in the 60m and 200m: Ivan Rodriguez (7.35/23.98) and Gianluca Manuel (7.51/25.12) made their season debuts, while Tyler Anderson ran a 7.62/25.29. In the 200m, eight Hawks competed, with Lucas McMillan leading the pack at 23.64 seconds. Other notable finishes came from Justin Brown (23.81), Jaylen Calhoun (23.88), and Prince Ellington (24.25). Tyler Thymian also competed in the 200m (27.10) and had a strong debut in the 60m hurdles, clocking 9.38.

Ellington, meanwhile, had a spectacular day, setting a new Harper record in the 60m hurdles with a 2nd-place finish in 8.47 seconds.

The 400m race saw Joel Jones lead the Hawks with a time of 53.70, just edging out Fortis Variano (53.71), while Anthony LoBue finished in 54.48. In the 800m, Connor Ariunbat was the lone competitor for the Hawks, finishing in 2:08.29. The mile featured five Hawks, with Owen Whelan leading at 4:35.41. Zach Sheehan set a new indoor PR with a time of 4:45.48.

In the 3k, Ryan Golden and Jose Morales led the way with times of 9:18.76 and 9:24.38, respectively. Golden's performance narrowly made the Hawks' Indoor Top 10 list. The Hawks also ran three 1600m relay teams, with the 'B' team (McMillan, LoBue, Brown, Rodriguez) narrowly edging the 'A' team (Jones, Variano, Ariunbat, Andrew Rashad), finishing with times of 3:35.51 and 3:35.89.

In the field events, Stephen Osei made an impressive 12' 7.5" vault. Ellington led the long jump with a mark of 21' 2", good for 6th on the Hawks Indoor Top 10 list, while Rashad followed up with 19' 10.25". Shamar Allwood also contributed with a 41' 8" triple jump. High jumpers Calhoun (6' 0"), Rashad (5' 8"), and Sean Holcombe (5' 6") gave solid performances.

In the throws, Hunter Matuch and Rodolfo Martinez competed in both shot put and weight throw. Matuch came close to breaking the Hawks Indoor record, with a shot put of 53' 4.5". Martinez finished with a shot put of 32' 4.75" and a weight throw of 21' 8.75", while Matuch registered a weight throw of 39' 11.5".

Several Hawks have now met the 2025 NJCAA National Qualifying standards, including Ledezma (200m), McMillan (200m, pole vault), Ariunbat (1500m), Whelan (1500m), the 1600m relay team, Calhoun (high jump), Rashad (high jump), Osei (pole vault), Ellington (long jump), Allwood (triple jump), and Matuch (shot put).

The Hawks will look to continue their strong performances as they next compete at the Tadd Metzger Invitational at Carthage College on Saturday, February 8, 2025.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Anderson: Sprints; Sophomore

Alek Ledezma: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Gianluca Manuel: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Lucas McMillan: Sophomore; Pole Vault, 100m, 200m, 400m

Fortis Variano: Sophomore; 200m, 400m, Relays

Owen Whelan: Sophomore; 1500m, 5k

Connor Ariunbat: Mid Dist.; Freshman

Ryan Golden: Mid Dist.; Freshman

Shamar Allwood: Jumps; Freshman

Justin Brown: Sprints; Freshman

Jaylen Calhoun: Jumps, Sprints; Freshman

Prince Ellington: Hurdles, Jumps; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tyler Anderson
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Alek Ledezma
: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Gianluca Manuel
: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Lucas McMillan
: Sophomore; Pole Vault, 100m, 200m, 400m

Fortis Variano
: Sophomore; 200m, 400m, Relays

Owen Whelan
: Sophomore; 1500m, 5k

Connor Ariunbat
: Freshman
: Mid Dist.

Ryan Golden
: Freshman
: Mid Dist.

Shamar Allwood
: Freshman
: Jumps

Justin Brown
: Freshman
: Sprints

Jaylen Calhoun
: Freshman
: Jumps, Sprints

Prince Ellington
: Freshman
: Hurdles, Jumps