Grantham, Pa. (Outdoor Track & Field) – The first day of the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Messiah University, concluded with Lebanon Valley leading the men's field, King's leading the women's field and several athletes establishing early leads in multi-event competitions.
 
HAMMER THROW
Misericordia's Stephen Gihr secured the gold in the hammer throw with a mark of 55.01m on his fourth attempt. DeSales' Jonathan Eudja followed in second (49.95m), while John Kodack of Widener took third with a mark of 49.83m.

On the women's side, Brandy Varner of King's claimed the gold medal with a mark of 51.15m on her first attempt. Her teammates Katelyn Shoemaker (50.98m) and Caitlin Kirk (50.93m) completed a dominant podium sweep for the Monarchs.

WOMEN'S POLE VAULT
Alita Paragon of York claimed first place with a mark of 3.50m. Stevens' Alexis Merola placed second (3.25m), and host Messiah's Alivia Ritenour took third with a 3.20m mark.

10,000-METER RUN
Lebanon Valley’s Andrew Namatka took first place in the men's 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:32.62. Joseph Wilson of DeSales finished second (31:36.94), and Misericordia’s Ryan Weber earned third (32:24.46).

For the women, Ellie Kozich of DeSales placed first with a time of 37:30.93. Messiah’s Delaney Turk took silver (37:46.18), and Widener's Kathryn Long rounded out the top three (38:12.86).
 
4x800-METER RELAY
The Lebanon Valley men took gold with a time of 7:48.87. Eastern finished closely behind to take silver (7:50.28), and Messiah won bronze with a time of 7:50.70.

The Misericordia women captured gold in 9:26.04. Host Messiah followed in second place (9:30.06), and Lebanon Valley finished third with a time of 9:39.87.
 
HEPTATHLON (Through 4 Events)
Anna Sawicki of Lebanon Valley leads the women’s heptathlon with 2,841 points, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 100m hurdles (15.71s) and the 200m (26.16s). Meghan Kreinberg of FDU-Florham holds second with 2,811 points, followed by Messiah’s Kara Brown in third with 2,476 points.
 
DECATHLON (Through 5 Events)
Brandon Kiefer of Stevens leads the decathlon with 3,324 points, having won the 400m dash (52.63s) to close the day. Graison Michajluk of Lebanon Valley sits in second with 3,150 points, and York’s Matthew Martin is in third with 3,032 points.
 
The team standings through six events can be viewed below:

MEN
1. Lebanon Valley, 27
2. DeSales, 22
3. Misericordia, 16
t4. York, 9
t4. Widener, 9
t4. Stevens, 9
7. Eastern, 8
8. Messiah, 7
9. King's, 5
10. Arcadia, 4
11. Stevenson, 1

WOMEN
1. King's, 27
2. Messiah, 25
3. DeSales, 18
4. York, 16.5
5. Stevens, 15.5
6. Lebanon Valley, 15
t7. Widener, 14
t7. Misericordia, 14
9. Delaware Valley, 9
t10. Eastern, 1
t10. Arcadia, 1