READING, Pa. - Eastern Men's Track and Field put forth a strong showing at the Alvernia Winter Invitational on Saturday at the Plex. Sophomore
Jeric Lewis set the new program record in the Triple Jump, two other individuals and three relay teams recorded top-10 program finishes, and six Eagles qualified for the 2026 MAC Indoor Championships in Eastern's first meet of 2026.
On his last jump of the day, Lewis leaped 14.42m, Eastern's best finish in the event since 2018. Frantzy Sainvil held the record for eight years, jumping 14.27m at the 2018 MAC Indoor Championships. His 14.42m mark would have qualified for the national meet last year as the No. 17 seed. Along with that, Lewis qualified for the 2026 MAC Indoor Championships with his record breaking jump.
Zachary Howard also PR'd in the event and qualified for the 2026 Indoor Championships, recording a jump of 12.74m.
A pair of first-years also had strong days at Alvernia. In the 60m,
Jahari Brown ran the third-best time in program history in the final, placing fifth at 7.02. Brown also finished eighth in the 200m with a time of 23.07. He qualified for the MAC Championships in both events back in December. In the Weight Throw,
Jeffrey Robbins reached No. 2 in program history with a throw of 12.85m.
In the 4x800, Eastern's A and B squads both hit the top-10.
Astin Daniel,
Tyler Long,
Robert Walton, and
Ryle Mellinger finished second with a time of 8:23.43, good for fifth, while
Kendyel Furtick,
Malachi Wilson,
Joshua Knox-Wagner, and
Aidan Grivas finished fourth in 8:41.06, good for ninth. Eastern's 4x200 relay squad also cracked the top-10, as
Jahari Brown,
Fritz Clement,
Brock Brunson, and
Josiah Cureton finished second in 1:32.95. That is the third-best finish in program history.
Ian Hopkins, after breaking his own program record in the 60m Hurdles back in December, placed second on Saturday with a time of 8.38. In his first Mile Run of the winter season, senior
Ryle Mellinger qualified for the 2026 MAC Indoor Championships with a third place finish and a time of 4:27.61.
Christian Scales placed third in the 400m at 52.36,
Lawrence Day (1.90m) and
Leroy Cornette (1.75m) finished second and seventh in the High Jump, and
Kedar Scott qualified in the Long Jump with a PR of 6.22m.
Eastern will be back at F & M next weekend for the Coach I Open.
