May 7, 2021

The Basics

• The lead: Senior Amar Bindra set a new personal record in the 400-meter hurdles Friday to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's outdoor track and field team on the second day of competition at the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
• Location: Elizabeth J. Hirschmann Field at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium - Chester, Pennsylvania
• Short Story: Entering the championships as the sixth seed with a time of 56.57 seconds, Bindra completed the race in 55.20 seconds to hold the second seed entering Saturday's championship race. The time set a new personal record for the Bernardsville, New Jersey native by 1.3 seconds to post the seventh-fastest time in the Atlantic Region and the 38th fastest time in Division III.
• The Score: Stevens is tied for 11th place with four points. Widener University leads with 52.5 poins, with York College of Pennsylvania (42), Messiah University (36), DeSales University (35) and Lebanon Valley College (34.5) rounding out the top five.

Top Finishes

• Graduate student Nicholas DiMaria won his 400-meter dash preliminary heat and earned the top seed in Saturday's championship race. The Spotswood, New Jersey native topped the field in 48.92 seconds. He currently holds the 10th-fastest time in Division III. 
• DiMaria nearly missed making it 2 for 2, finishing second in the 200-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 22.13 seconds. DiMaria won his heat by fifty-five-hundredths-of-a-second to enter Saturday's championship seeded second. Lebanon Valley's Owen Buhr holds the top time (21.99 seconds) entering the final. DiMaria is currently eighth in Division III in the event. 

Key Performances

• The 4x10-meter relay team of senior Danny LaMastra, junior Uday Samavenkata, Bindra and first-year Christopher Rodriguez qualified for the finals with a season-best time of 44.38 seconds. The quartet is ranked ninth heading into Saturday's final.
• First-year Dhavan Antala finished eighth in the 800, setting a personal-best with a time of 1:58.39, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the finals. 

From the Blocks

• "We have set ourselves up to have a big Day 3 tomorrow and we're looking forward to the finals." - head coach Lance Harden
• "Amar Bindra announced that he is a force to be reckoned with in the 400-meter hurdles, setting a new personal best by 1.3 seconds by being aggressive and staying in attack mode for a full circuit." - head coach Lance Harden
• "Nick DiMaria covered the first half of his 400 prelim very swiftly and he looked particularly smooth in the 200, exploding off of the turn into the home straightaway." - head coach Lance Harden
• "Ronnie Melao and Dhavan Antala each put themselves in position to qualify for the finals of the 800, making calculated moves and fighting valiantly. While they did not advance, they were rewarded with their first-ever sub-2:00 clockings." - head coach Lance Harden

Up Next

• The final day of competition gets underway Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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