MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It certainly wasn't easy, and the weather didn't help things on Friday afternoon at the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Outdoor Championship at West Virginia University, but the Geneva College men's track and field team persevered and earned its seventh straight PAC Championship, finishing with 157 points, defeating second-place Grove City by 18 points.

The first two hours of the meet took place in periods of steady rain and strong winds, which made the 50-degree day particularly challenging for every team in attendance.  Despite those conditions and a late surge by Grove City, the Golden Tornadoes came through at the end to add another trophy to their collection.

Geneva picked up three first place finishes on the day.  Freshman Noah Foust (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) won the discus with a season-best toss of 42.94 meters.  Senior Stephen Nelson (Orono, Maine/Orono) won the 400m hurdles with a time of 57.68 seconds.  Lastly, Geneva's 4x400m relay team, consisting of Nelson, junior Felix Hernandez (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg), senior Dom Data (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) and senior Caleb Schaelchlin (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), finished off the meet with a first-place time of 3:33.51, with Schaelchlin coming from behind on his anchor leg to win the race.

In addition, Geneva had multiple top three finishes.  Junior Giovanni Segura (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) placed second in the shot put with a toss of 13.23 meters.  Senior Jarron Mihoci (Hartstown, Pa./Jamestwon) finished second in the 10,000m race with a time of 34:48.94.  Senior Josiah Mansell (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) was right behind in the 10,000m race, finishing third in an identical time of 34:48.94.

Senior Christian Valento (Pavilion, N.Y./Pavilion Central) finished second in the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 10:08.20, with sophomore Josiah Helmer (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) coming in right behind Valento in third place with a time of 10:11.80.  Helmer also took third in the 5000m race with a time of 16:28.12, with Mansell right behind in fourth with a time of 16:29.14, so Geneva's long-distance group really had a strong day.

Schaelchlin brought home a second-place finish in the 400m with a time of 51.29 seconds.  Data brought home a second-place finish in the 200m race with a time of 22.53 seconds, and senior Gabe Willis (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) had a personal-best third-place finish in the 800m race with a time of 2:02.68.

Geneva's 4x100m relay team also placed well, consisting of Nelson, Data, senior Ryan Kennell (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) and senior Adam Hines (New Kensington, Pa./Valley), finishing in second place with a time of 43.50 seconds.

"These young men are a special group," said Head Coach Phil Thompson.  "They continue to fight and won't settle for anything less than a championship.  I took some chances as their coach that didn't pay off, but that didn't faze them and they went out and made up for my mistakes.  These men are a family and they will always do anything to help their family win.  Some of these guys were in six or seven events, and they were literally laying on the track after their event, and then they would get back up and go to their next event.  It is a great feeling to bring home a seventh straight championship for the program and Geneva.  This one may be the best of all of them because of what we had to go through.  I am so proud of this team, and they deserve this because of the work and time they put into their craft each day."

Geneva has a large group of seniors that will be graduating, a group that never finished anything other than first place at any PAC Championships.  The Golden Tornadoes do return a number of strong performers, though, as the men will look to make it eight straight next season.


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).