It was a strong start to the season for the St. Lawrence University men's track and field team, as they rang in the holiday season with a first place finish at their Saints Holiday Relays event Saturday afternoon at the Newell Field House.

The Saints saw multiple personal bests as they finished the meet with 222.5 points to win the six-team. That total put them nearly 100 points ahead of second-place Plattsburgh.

 "We had a very solid season opener today," said Saints head coach John Newman. There were plenty of personal bests and event champions, making for a fun first meet. The two new relay additions that were included in the slate of events added some additional intrigue. Our returners and veterans helped set the tone for the competition and our first years got a good taste of collegiate track and field. I think we are all excited for our next competition."

The team of Payton Bessette, Maximus Bedard, Cyrus Goetze, and Patrick Russell got the winning started for St. Lawrence, taking first place in the sprint medley relay by posting a time of 3:49.81.

As far as personal-bests go, Patrick Russell blew through his lifetime record in his win at the mile run, placing first with a time of 4:34.51. That was three seconds faster than his closest competitor, and beat his lifetime record from last year's Holiday Relays by six seconds.

Timothy Boyce posted a strong time in the 600-meter run for the Saints, crossing the line in 1:27.21 for a second-place finish in his first collegiate entry in the 600-meter. Kristofer Mellor was right behind him in fourth place, setting a personal best in the event with a time of 1:27.93.

In the 1,000-meter run, Peter Stubler claimed first place with a time of 2:36.69, leading the field with a strong performance. Teammates Goetze and Henry Hagen finished third and fourth with times of 2:45.25 and 2:47.96, respectively.
The Saints also earned a win in the 3000-meter run, with Griffin Roeder cruising to victory in a time of 9:13.97.

The 4x200-meter relay team of Charles Gartner, Caleb Young, Robert Scalessa, and Shemir Bridges sprinted to first place, crossing the line in 1:35.61 to secure a commanding win for the Saints.

In the field events, Erik Schneider delivered a standout performance in the weight throw, earning first place with a personal-best mark of 13.56 meters. Mike Smigen excelled in the jumps, placing third in the high jump with a clearance of 1.75 meters and achieving a personal record in the triple jump, where he finished second with a leap of 12.32 meters.

The Saints now make their way to the holiday break, where they will take a month-long break before returning to the track at Middlebury in January.