BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Four Greyhounds qualified for the ECAC Division III Championships in March 2014 in their respective events and senior David Cariello broke the school record in the heptathlon, finishing second with 4,725 points at Day 2 of the Fast Times Before Finals meet at Lehigh University on Saturday.
The Greyhounds finished in a tie for fourth with NCAA Division III West Chester University of Pennsylvania at 16 points among the seven teams competing in the meet. The University of Pennsylvania took first place with a team score of 39.5 points.
Cariello shattered the school record in the heptathlon, while also qualifying for ECAC in the long jump and 60-meter hurdles. In the multi competition, the versatile senior ran an 8.55-second 60m hurdles Saturday morning to finish first place, earning 848 points and help him surpass the previous Moravian record of 3,942 set by Erik Nielsen in 2005. Cariello cleared 4.19 meters (13 feet, 9 inches) in the pole vault for first place in the event and another 671 points before competing in the 1000-meter run with 551 points to wrap up the seven-event competition. Cariello scored 2,655 points on the opening day of competition.
"I knew I was capable of this going in," Cariello said. "To be able to beat it by this much is a great feeling, knowing I was able to make a name for myself and cement my legacy here at Moravian. It's awesome, but it's only the beginning. I feel like I can improve in each and every event. I'm excited to see what the rest of the season will hold for me."
Sophomore Albert Myers was also a dual qualifier for the ECAC Championships in the long jump and 60-meter dash. He finished second place in the long jump with a mark of 6.96 meters (22 feet, 10 ½ inches), a career best indoors. The mark was only .01 meters from first place. Myers also turned in a personal record running the 60-meter dash in 7.09 seconds.
Senior Kristopher Joint had the Greyhounds lone first place finish with an ECAC qualifying mark of 14.82 meters (48 feet, 7 ½ inches) in the triple jump, the second best jump in school history behind the school record that Joint set this past February. Junior Chris Ossont was third in the event at 13.22 meters (43 feet, 4 ½ inches).
Junior Parker Munson also qualified for the ECAC meet with a PR in the shot put with a toss of 14.61 meters (47 feet, 11 ¼ inches) which was good enough for fourth place. Sophomore Ryan Karnopp placed third in the pole vault with an indoor PR of 4.45 meters (14 feet, 7 ¼ inches) while freshman Kahron Walker was seventh in the high jump at 1.90 meters (6 feet, 2 ¾ inches).
Freshman Austin Gardener placed third in the 200-meter dash in 23.21 seconds. Moravian's 4x400-meter relay squad of Ossont, senior Yacine Zerdoum and sophomores Gavin Bailey and Tyler Dwyer finished sixth in a time of 3:33.20.
The Greyhounds are now off until next semester when Moravian is set to compete at the Muhlenberg College Invitational on Friday, January 24.
