Backed by an individual victory from Erik Marelli and a series of standout performances in the middle-distance events, the St. Lawrence University men's track and field team secured a seventh-place finish in a competitive 15-team field at the Nazareth Conference Challenge Cup on Saturday.

Erik Marelli provided the highlight of the day in the 60-meter hurdles, downing his personal best in his first outing of the afternoon. Marelli crossed the line in a personal-best time of 8.41 seconds to take the top spot in the preliminaries. He returned for the finals and recorded, posting a 8.43 to claim first place overall and secure a crucial ten points for the Saints.

The middle-distance group also enjoyed a prolific day, led by the duo of Nick Lyndaker and Patrick Russell. Lyndaker led the charge in the mile run, crossing the line in 4:08.77 to take second place among a quick group led by SUNY Geneseo.

Russell followed closely in fifth, beating his previous best with a PR of 4:20.55. Both runners displayed impressive range by returning to the track for the 800-meter run later in the day. Lyndaker placed fourth with a time of 1:57.43, while Russell snagged 10th place and his second personal record of the meet, finishing in 1:58.33.

The Saints saw further contributions across the board to solidify their seventh-place team standing.

In the field, John Mahoney earned a seventh-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.27 meters. Elsewhere, Brody Mindel had a milestone run, recording a PR by battling to an eighth-place finish in the B section of the 5000-meter run, clocking in at 16:40.77, while Bodie Molnar turned in a strong performance in the 400-meter dash, finishing 11th in a deep field with a time of 50.80.

St. Lawrence will now head to the Fastrack National Invitational for their next meet, as they continue through their 2025-26 indoor schedule.