Men’s Track & Field: Texas Paulie Runs Away at Grizzly Invite
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Senior Paul Thibodeau ran the race of his career, dropping seven seconds off his personal-best to win the 1,500 meter race at the Grizzly Invite at Ursinus College on a pleasant Friday afternoon.
Junior Vernon Chaplin also ran to victory, out-kicking 33 competitors to win the 800 meters in a time of 1:58.38.
The Garnet ran their way to fifth place with a team total of 49 points. Moravian College out-distanced 12 other schools with a team score of 161.
Thibodeau out-ran Widener's Zach Miller (4:05.58) and Kevin Cunningham (4:05.60) in a thrilling race that saw the Swarthmore senior post a time of 4:03.01 for his first collegiate victory. Thibodeau was joined in the top-15 by teammates Dan Hodson (seventh-4:15.65), sophomore Jon Shoop (11th-4:21.59), and freshman Erik Saka (12th-4:22.26).
Chaplin was joined in the top-10 of the 800 by four Swarthmore teammates: freshman Connor Darby broke the two minute barrier for the first time in his life, running fourth in a time of 1:59.74, junior Dillon McGrew finished sixth in a time of 2:02.56, while seniors Keefe Keeley (ninth-2:05.08) and David Hoyt (10th-2:05.56) posted similar times.
Senior Nick Graham ran a pair of strong sprints, finishing 10th in the 100 meters (11.57) and 14th in the 200 meters (23.50). His 100 time is the eighth-fastest in school history while his 200 time just missed the top ten. Freshman Michael Bonesteel ran 12th at 100 meters (12.00) while senior Tyler Lyson ran well in the 200, finishing 17th in a time of 23.87.
The Garnet return to Widener University on April 27 -28 for the annual Widener Invitational.