Penn State Nationals Heat Sheet
Patriot Games Heat Sheet

PHILADELPHIA- The majority of the La Salle men's track and field team will travel to the Patriot Games this weekend while three distance runners travel to the Penn State Nationals to represent the Explorers.

Seniors Ian Barnhill and Nico Greco will compete in the 5000 meter run at the Penn State Nationals. The pair is part of a 16 man field in the event. Neither has run the event in the early part of the season so far but Greco holds a career best time of 14:41.58 in the distance while Barnhill's best time is 14:40.21 achieved last season at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational.

Graduate student Vince Perroze joins the seniors at the Penn State Nationals as he will compete in the 3000 meter run along with 13 others. Perroze has yet to run the distance this season but owns a career best time of 8:14.16 in the event at last season's IC4A Indoor Championships.

At the Patriot Games, La Salle will travel 23 athletes to compete in 14 separate events including two teams entered in the 4x400 meter relay and a team in the distance medley relay.

Three Explorers are entered in the 60 meter dash field of 74. Freshmen Justin Guerre and Matthew Knoll as well as senior Francis Mancho will represent La Salle in the event. Guerre owns the best time this season, a 7.04 at the NYC Gotham Cup, while Mancho ran a 6.99 at the Columbia Invitational in 2014 in the event. Knoll will be making his collegiate debut this weekend for La Salle.

Guerre and Mancho also are entered in the 200 meter dash as is junior Joshua Byrd. Part of the 84 man field in the event, Guerre is the only one of the group to have run the event this season and also holds the best career time of the three having run a 22.73 at the NYC Gotham cup for a top 20 finish.

Byrd is also entered in the 400 meter dash as are sophomore Nick Della Vecchia and freshman David Reick. Byrd is the only one of the group who has collegiate experience at the distance having run a career best 49.49 at the Atlantic 10 Championships last season.

A pair of freshmen will compete in the 500 meter dash field of 28 for the Explorers. Gregory Dix and Michael Hagan enter the event with Hagan having the only previous experience at the distance after running a 1:10.86 at the Gotham Cup earlier this season.

Four Explorers will be in the 800 meter run field of 45 at the Patriot Games. Juniors Dallas Penny and Chris Trimble as well as sophomore Cris Hunter and freshman Collin Pierlott all enter the event. Hunter owns the best career indoor time in the event of the group having run a 2:00.48 last weekend at the Tiger Open for a 14^th place finish.

Sophomore Nick LeFavor and freshman Nicholas Smart both enter the 35 man field for the 1000 meter run. Smart owns the best career time in the event of the two having run a 2:36.17 at the Jack Pyrah Invitational earlier this season. Sophomores Fran Ferruzzi and Chris Berry will enter the 49 man field for the 3000 meter run. Both will be making their debuts in the event after primarily focusing on cross country thus far in college.

Four upperclassmen enter the one mile run field of 56 for the Explorers. Juniors Tim Flanagan, Stephen Lewandowski and John Pujols and senior Ben Pershall will represent La Salle in the event. Lewandowski owns the best career time in the event of the group having run a 4:20.03 at the NYC Gotham Cup earlier this year.

Rounding off the track individual entries for La Salle are Tom Hudson in the 5000 meter run and Della Vecchia in the 60 meter hurdles. Della Vecchia's best previous time in the 60 meter hurdles was a 9.03 run at the NYC Gotham Cup earlier this season.

In field events, freshman Kenneth Worthington enters both the high and long jump. His best high jump was a 1.94 meter leap at the NYC Gotham Cup and his best at long jump is 6.7 meters also at the NYC Gotham Cup. Senior Michael Santeramo will compete in the shot put along with 50 others. Santeramo has a career long throw of 12.78 meters accomplished earlier this season at the Collegeville Indoor Classic.

La Salle will enter two teams in the 4x400 meter relay. Guerre, Byrd, Hunter and Della Vecchia will serve as La Salle A, while Mancho, Reick, Dix and Hagan will compete as La Salle B in the 22 team field. In the distance medley relay LeFavor, Pierlott, Smart and Pujols will go up against five other teams.

The Explorers return to action next weekend when they travel to the Giegengack Invitational in New Haven, Ct. with the action beginning next Friday.