The Lancaster Bible College Men's and Women's Track & Field teams kicked off their 2025-26 Indoor Season on Friday as they traveled across town to compete in the Diplomat Open hosted by Franklin & Marshall College. The Chargers saw three school records fall, seven NCCAA qualifications by five different athletes, and one event winner to begin the Indoor season strong.
 
Track Action
 
The Men's team had one school record as David Helms (Jr.) placed third in the 5,000-Meters, finishing with a time of 15:10.80 while breaking his own school record by 30-seconds and qualifying for NCCAA competition. Also racing in the 5,000-Meters were Victor Hanley (Fr.) and Ethan Dell (So.), finishing back-to-back in 34th and 35th respectively with times of 17:54.34 and 17:55.68. In the other distance races, Caleb Woods (Fr.) ran his first collegiate 3,000-Meter race and finished in 19th with a time of 14:27.22, while Jaden Royal (Jr.) ran a time of 5:29.02 in the Mile Run and ran a 2:18.47 time in the 800-Meters. In the sprints and mid-distance races, Amari Williams (So.) was LBC's lone competitor in the 60-Meters with a time of 7.65 and raced in the 200-Meters as well with a time of 25.34, joined by Gavin Hunter (Fr.) at 24.01 and Justice Rutter (Fr.) at 28.73. Joey Benedict (Sr.) and Kingsiah Oquendo (Fr.) each ran in the 400-Meters with times of 59.96 and 1:02.81 respectively, while Oquendo and Evan Kline (Sr.) joined Royal in the 800-Meters with times of 2:29.85 and 3:04.25 respectively.
 
The Women's team saw one top-10 finish and one NCCAA qualifier in track action as Abby Ames (Jr.) placed sixth in the Mile Run with a time of 5:46.11 and Seana Dougherty (So.) qualified for NCCAA in the 5,000-Meters with a time of 20:08.26, placing 12th in the event. In other track action, Kylee Antrim (So.) placed 18th in the 400-Meters with a time of 1:12.31, Faith Garber (Jr.) ran a 30.65 in the 200-Meters, and Zoi Whitsett (Jr.) debuted in both the 60-Meters and the 200-Meters, running a time of 8.72 in the 60M and a time of 29.90 in the 200M.
 
Field Action
 
The Men's Team had two NCCAA qualifiers and one school record in field events, seeing Aidan Miller (So.) set a new program-best in the Triple Jump with a jump of 12.88 Meters, placing fifth in the event and qualifying for NCCAA competition. The Long Jump saw two top-10 finishers for LBC as Kyle Durkin placed fifth at 6.41m and Micah Richardson (Sr.) placing ninth at 6.19m for a personal best, with Durkin making the NCCAA-qualifying mark. Chase Gerber (Jr.) and Luke Richardson (So.) each jumped 1.75m in the High Jump with Richardson jumping 6.02m in the Long Jump as well. Ethan Gonzalez (Fr.) set marks of 1.70m in the High Jump and 4.59m in the Long Jump in his first collegiate meet, while Hudson Gosselin (Fr.) threw for 12.13m in the Weight Throw and 11.46m in the Shot Put in his first performance. Emery McCombs (So.) placed 15th in the Weight Throw with a distance of 12.41m and added a 13th-place finish in the Shot Put at 12.03m.
 
The Women's team had a trifecta of NCCAA qualifications by newcomer Elly Bruner (Jr.), winning the High Jump with a height of 1.52m for first place outright, placing eighth in the Long Jump with a distance of 4.93m, and setting a new school record in the Triple Jump at 9.92m for a fourth-place finish. Vera Innerst (So.) set a personal-best in the Weight Throw at 10.28m and also threw the Shot Put for 8.68m, with McKayla Vetterani (So.) throwing Shot Put as well for a mark of 7.64m. Finally, Emma Cassel jumped for 1.32m in the High Jump and Lizzie Dimov (So.) set a personal-best mark of 4.53m in the Long Jump.
 
NCCAA Qualifiers
- David Helms --> 5,000-Meters
- Seana Dougherty --> 5,000-Meters
- Kyle Durkin --> Long Jump
- Aidan Miller --> Triple Jump
- Elly Bruner --> High Jump | Long Jump | Triple Jump
 
School Records
- David Helms --> 5,000-Meters (15:10.80)
- Aidan Miller --> Triple Jump (12.88 Meters)
- Elly Bruner --> Triple Jump (9.92 Meters)
 
Up Next:
The Chargers' next meet will be after the new year rings in as they travel to Lebanon Valley on January 9, 2026 to compete in the LVC Invite in Annville, Pa. beginning at 3:45 p.m.