PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - It was a full weekend of breaking records for Eastern Men's Track and Field at the Widener Indoor Classic on Friday and Saturday.
Foday Koroma broke his own record in the Weight Throw,
Ryle Mellinger broke his own mark in the Mile, and Eastern's 4x400 relay team of
ShaMar Davis,
Robert Walton,
Keyon Jones, and
Christian Scales broke a six-year record in the event.
Koroma, after breaking his own record a week ago at F&M, did so again on Friday. He set the new program record on his second throw with a toss of 14.58m. He went over 14 meters on his first throw. Koroma has held the top spot in the Weight Throw since last February's Keogh Invitational at Haverford.
Mellinger, who set the Mile record last year at the Widener Indoor Classic, did so again this year's iteration. The senior shaved his PR by over five seconds, placing fifth in the race with a time of 4:15.96. That is eight seconds faster than the No. 2 spot on the list. Rusty Batykefer ran 4:23.90 at the 2017 MAC Indoor Championships nine years ago.
The Eagles set their third program record in the final event of the day - the 4x400m relay. Davis, Walton, Jones, and Scales crossed the finish line in 3:24.38, nearly four full seconds faster than the previous record run that Jhaunell Burnside, Michael Shea, DaNeal Williams, and Jean-Michelet Andre had at the Plex Shootout back on Feb. 8, 2020. It was Eastern's best finish in the event since the 2024 Penn State Tune-Up, when
James Ugorji,
Daniel Franklin, Jahson Santana, and Walton finished in 3:29.96.
In other events on the track,
Ian Hopkins placed third in the 60m Hurdles with a time of 8.30, while Jones placed fifth at 8.46. In the prelim,
Fritz Clement finished in 8.87, vaulting him to sixth in program history in the event. Ugorji also PR'd in the 200m with a time of 22.54. He remains in second place on the top-10 list, just under former teammate
Ni'Male Greenwood. In the 800m,
Joshua Knox-Wagner (1.58.71) and
Tyler Long (2:01.94) both ran career-best races, moving up to fourth and eighth in the top-10, respectively.
In other events in the field,
Lawrence Day moved up to second in program history in the High Jump with a PR of 1.95m, while
Jeric Lewis, who holds the program record in the Triple Jump, finished sixth with a jump of 14.28m.
Eastern will be back in action next Friday for the Penn State Tune-Up and the Keogh Invitational.
