The distance medley relay made a push for States, placing 7th with a time of 10:54.33. Rock Fortna led off with a remarkable 3:23.0 PR 1200m leg, followed by Austin Kline's 51.9 400m, AJ Morgan's 2:04.5 indoor PR in the 800m, and Chris Berry's 4:34.7 1600m anchor. Although the relay did not meet the automatic qualifying standard, because teams must choose between the DMR and 4x8, the Bucks were accepted among the top 15 teams in the one-heat DMR State Championship final.
Freshman Ryan McIhinney and senior Ethan Long competed next in the 400 meter dash, with solid showings of 56.40 and 53.24 seconds.
The Bucks ended the Meet of Champions on a high note, with the all-senior 4x400 meter relay earning 5th
place medals and t-shirt SWAG for their efforts. Austin Kline led off in 51.9, followed by a sizzling 51-mid from Shawn Young that took the Bucks from fourth to first. Ethan Long ran a solid 52.9 to maintain the lead on the third leg before passing to Greg Branch who ran a strong 52.9 anchor in his return from a slight hamstring pull at the Poreda Invitational.
The Bucks culminate their season at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association State Championship at Penn State University on Saturday. With Kline and Branch healthy, paired with Young and Long running better than ever, the set of four seniors is poised to earn State Championship medals in the 4x400 relay. If the relay puts together a gem, 2011 school record of 3:21.87 may be in jeopardy on the lightning fast banked track. Chris Berry is also looking to reset Nick Scarpello's 2010 school record of 8:47.84 in the 3000 meter run and contend with the State-Championship frontrunners in the process. Berry qualified for states in December at Lehigh in a match race with Monsignor Bonnor's Will McDermott. Only four runners in Pennsylvania have run faster than Berry's 8:51.92 qualifying time on a flat track in over the last seven weeks. Berry's 8:51.92 would have placed 2nd at the State Championship in 2012, 5th in 2011, and 10th in 2010.
The building opens at 8:30 and the meet begins at 10:00 am. Admission is $10.00 for adults. Food, drink, and State Championship memorabilia are available at the meet.