Josh McFrazier led men’s track at the Florida Relays.
When the men’s track and field team headed down south recently to take part in the Florida Relays, sophomore Josh McFrazier was a standout for the Owls. He raced the 110-meter hurdles, turning in an Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America qualifying time of 14.33 seconds.
The New Brighton, Pa. native finished 31 out of the 54 athletes in the event. The meet, which took place on April 6 to 7 at the University of Florida, featured universities from all across the country.
McFrazier said he wasn’t particularly pleased with his performance.
“[The Florida Relays] wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” McFrazier said. “The track was nice, and it felt good. But I didn’t have the race I wanted.”
But coach Eric Mobley said McFrazier is showing improvement compared to last season and is pleased with the hurdler’s efforts so far this season.
“I’m very impressed with [McFrazier],” Mobley said. “He’s kind of matured a bit from his freshman year. He’s realizing the talent that he has and he’s just trying to take it to the next level.”
Freshman Cullen David set a new personal best time in the 1,500-meter run and finished 18 out of 39 runners. Then, in the second day of competition, Davis, McFrazier, senior Louis Parisi and junior Dylan Pensyl participated in the 1,600-meter sprint relay squad, posting an IC4A time in their sixth-place finish. Sophomore Gabe Pickett also posted an IC4A qualifying mark of 14.55 meters in the triple jump.
On the whole, Mobley said he was content with how the team competed in what was the team’s biggest test of the season thus far.
“We had some really good performances,” Mobley said. “We just missed a couple school records. [Senior] Brian Littlepage did really good making it to the finals in the discus. Our men’s [1,600-meter relay] had one of the fastest times since I’ve been coaching here. So, on the whole, I’d say it was a really good weekend for us.”
On Saturday, April 14, the team traveled to George Mason University to take part in the Patriot Open Invitational. Before the meet, Mobley expressed a desire for some different athletes to “step up.”
That’s exactly what he got.
Sophomore Philip Fanz shined with a first place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning a new personal best time of 9:18.41. Pickett, sophomore Darryl McDuffie and senior Tim Malloy also punched in some strong efforts, with Pickett and McDuffie earning new personal bests in their respective events.
The team will travel to Princeton University next weekend for the Larry Ellis Invitational, which will serve as the precursor for the anticipated Penn Relays, which will be held, April 26 to 28.
Avery Maehrer can be reached at avery.maehrer@temple.edu.
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