A statement was made by the 4x800-meter relay team at the Last Chance Meet this past Friday at Lehigh University as they ran their way into the top ten in the state.

Leading off, junior Josh Daniels battled with the front pack and ran a personal best of over four seconds with a 2:05.39. Senior Jack Steitz kept the momentum going with a personal best of 2:04.37. Then, junior Joe Sims set a near seven-second personal record of 2:03.85. And senior Patrick Kleemeier secured the fourth-place medal with a personal record of 2:06.53. The team time of 8:20.14 was best on the season.

At the end of the meet, the 4x400-meter relay secured a fourth-place medal and remained in the top twenty in the state once the weekend was complete. Fresh off a bronze-medal clearance of 11’6” in the pole vault, senior Evan Clark led off with a 53.42. He was followed by sophomore Mike Steitz with a personal record of 53.83, running in his second race of the day. Mike handed off to his brother Jack, who ran a strong 54.42 for his second race of the day. And, also in his second race of the day, Kleemeier anchored with a 53.78. The team time of 3:35.47 was also best on the season.

Individually, senior Nik Ventura continued to find success in the hurdles and the jumps. Ventura earned a fifth-place medal with a 9.08 in the 60-meter hurdle finals after a personal best of 9.05 in the trials. Ventura added a fourth-place medal in the triple jump with a leap of 41’6”.

Several other Patriots earned personal bests on the day including senior Pierson Stallings in the open 800 (2:10.49), senior Luke Gormley in the 800 of the DMR (2:17.36), and freshman Duncan McGarvey (26.54) and sophomore Mike Melendez (25.12) as the final legs of the 4x200-meter relay.

The team earned five medals, ten personal records, and five top ten performances.