BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It proved to be a fairly cool and windy day for the Geneva men's track and field team as the Golden Tornadoes got to compete at home in the Golden Tornado Classic at Merriman Athletic Complex, but the weather didn't stop the men from adding another first-place finish to their resume, easily defeating the other six President's Athletic Conference (PAC) schools in attendance.

Geneva earned the top three places in the 3000m steeplechase, with senior Christian Valento (Pavilion, N.Y./Pavilion Central) finishing first in 10:24.42, senior Jarron Mihoci (Hartstown, Pa./Jamestown) finishing in second in 10:40.71, and senior Adam Steich (Sinking Springs, Pa./High Point Baptist Academy) finishing third in 10:55.20.  In addition, senior Joey Kalik (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) finished first in the 1500m race in a time of 4:24.38.

Senior Stephen Nelson (Orono, Maine/Orono) won the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.03 seconds, while senior Ryan Kennell (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) was right behind, finishing second in 57.79 seconds.  Sophomore Josiah Helmer (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) won the 5000m run with a time of 16:22.26, with Valento finishing in second place with a time of 16:32.26.

Freshman Noah Foust (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) finished second in the discus with a toss of 41.47 meters, and Foust placed third in the shot put with a throw of 12.73 meters.  Senior Josh Barrett (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) placed second in the javelin with a toss of 48.31 meters, and he finished fourth in the shot put with a distance of 12.13 meters.  Freshman Andrew Decker (Meyersdale, Pa./Meyersdale) finished third in the triple jump with an effort of 11.70 meters.

Senior Dom Data (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) finished second in the 200m with a time of 22.71 seconds, and he finished third in the 100m with a time of 11.56 seconds.  Nelson finished right behind in fourth place in the 100m with a time of 11.67 seconds.  Also, senior Caleb Schaelchlin (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) finished second in the 800m race with a time of 2:02.77.

"These men just continue to perform and bring home victories," said Head Coach Phil Thompson.  "They work hard, and they expect to win.  I am really proud of the way they competed today on a colder day than normal, and yet we still have a lot of room to improve.  Our goal is to get better each week, and we did that today."

Geneva will return to action next Saturday with a meet at Thiel.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).