PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's track and field team heads to Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, N.J. for the Princeton Tiger Invite this Friday. The Explorers will compete against athletes from 18 different colleges. Live results for the event can be followed thanks to Tumey Timing.
 
There will be 26 different Explorers competing in a total of 12 different events during the Invite. A pair of freshmen will open things up for La Salle as Jordan Bryan and Kenneth Worthington are a part of the 22 man long jump field. Bryan jumped a 6.88m leap at the Jack Pyrah Invitational on his way to Atlantic 10 and ECAC South Rookie of the Week honors. Worthington also competed in the long jump at both the Jack Pyrah Invitational and the NYC Gotham Cup last weekend with a best of 6.7m coming at the Goham Cup. Worthington is the only La Salle entry in the high jump, part of a 22 man field. His La Salle best high jump to date is 1.94m last weekend in New York.
 
Three Explorers will be a part of the 60 meter dash field as freshmen Justin Guerre and Matthew Knoll and senior Francis Mancho are a part of a 48 man field in the event. For Guerre this will be his third time competing in the 60 meter this season with a best of 7.04 seconds coming last weekend at the NYC Gotham Cup. For Knoll this will be the Pine Bush, N.J. natives first ever event competing for the Explorers while Mancho ran a time of 7.16 seconds in the 60 meter last weekend.
 
The 60 meter hurdles event will feature two Explorers with freshman David Reick and sophomore Nick Della Vecchia. Reick ran a 9.31 seconds last weekend at the Gotham Cup in the 60 meter hurdles while Della Vecchia ran a 9.03 in the event which is a best for him in his La Salle career.
 
Two La Salle runners will be a part of the 36 man field in the one mile run. Senior Ian Barnhill and junior Tim Flanagan each will run in their only event during the one mile run. Flanagan has a career best time of 4:22.50 in the event at last season's Griegengack Invitational  while Barnhill has a career best time of 4:23.65 from last season's Columbia Invitational.
 
The 400 meter dash will feature three La Salle runners in a 33 person field. Della Vecchia will run in the event for the first time in his collegian career as will David Reick. Freshman Michael Hagan will compete in the event for the first time as well after running in the 500 meter and 300 meter distance in his first two collegian invitational.
 
Freshman Gregory Dix, sophomore Cris Hunter and Junior Dallas Penny will represent the Explorers in the 800 meter run in a field of 40 men. Penny holds a career best time of 2:08.95 at the Jack Pyrah Invitational earlier this season, while Hunter has never run the event indoor but has ran it outdoors on multiple occasions. Dix will be competing in the event for the first time.
 
Six Explorers will be competing in their sole event of the Invitational during the 1000 meter run. Freshmen Collin Pierlott and Nicholas Smart, sophomores Nick LeFavor and Dan Rosenblatt, and juniors Chris Trimble and John Pujols will compete in the 15 man field.
 
The 3000 meter run will feature an experienced Explorer group in the 32 man field. Seniors Ben Pershall and Nico Greco, junior David Ozarowski and sophomores Chris Berry and Fran Ferruzzi will compete in the event.
 
Junior Joshua Byrd and senior Steven Fisher will both compete in the 500 meter run where they will be joined by Hagan and Hunter. Byrd has a career best of 1:07.06 in the event at last season's Hoya Spiked Shoe Invitational.
 
La Salle will also enter two teams in the 4x400 meter relay with Hunter, Byrd, Della Vecchia, and Guerre serving as Team A while Hagan, Fischer, Reick, and Knoll will form Team B. There are 31 teams entered in the 4x400 meter relay.
 
The team will return to action next weekend when they travel to State College for the two day Penn State National Invitational on Friday and Saturday as well as sending some athletes to Fairfax for the Patriot Games on Saturday.