Rowan senior Chris Mesiano, a Schalick graduate, moved into the No. 3 spot on the NCAA Division 3 intermediate hurdles list Saturday with a 52.96 win at the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pa.
Mesiano led four Rowan hurdlers under 55.3 seconds, with Kervens Mezilus of Cherry Hill East third in 54.75, Ty Garland of Deptford fourth in 54.81 and John Owens of West Windsor-Plainsboro North fifth in 55.29.
Mesiano’s time trails only two Ohio runners – Otterbein junior Cwinn Febus, who ran 52.61 at the all-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan’s Selby Stadium in Delaware, Ohio (my alma mater!), and Kenny Beucler of Heidelberg, who ran 52.90 in a meet at Tiffin earlier this month.
Mesiano, a two-time NCAA All-America running on Rowan 1,600-meter relay teams, just missed his PR of 52.89, which he ran last May at Swarthmore.
Garland has run 54.09 this spring, but the 54.75 is a PR for Mezilus, and the 55.29 is a PR for Owens, who has also long jumped 22-11 3/4 this spring.