Senior Alex Mitton of the Muhlenberg men's track and field team capped a thrilling competition in the javelin by winning the gold medal on his final attempt at the Centennial Conference Championships.

Mitton had the last answer in a battle of "can you top this?" he played with Franklin & Marshall thrower Tanner Erisman for six rounds. Mitton was the only thrower to top 50 meters in the first round (51.38), but Erisman went ahead with a 54.90 in the second round. Mitton responded with a 55.30 in the third round to take the lead going into the finals.

Mitton (pictured above) extended his lead by touching down at 55.60 in the first round of finals, but Erisman unleashed a throw of 56.84 in the next round. 

Erisman, throwing next to last, added nearly two meters to his mark (58.82) in the final round. On the last throw of the competition, Mitton heaved the javelin 59.96 (196 feet, 9 inches) to claim the gold. It was the third-best distance in program history, and there were only 18 better marks in Division III this season heading into the weekend.

The gold was the first for Mitton, who came in fourth as a freshman but missed his entire sophomore campaign with an injury. He came back to place fifth last year.

Joining Mitton on the medal stand were junior Corey Mullins, who won a bronze in the 1500 meters, and sophomore Kem Montina, who came in third in the 400 hurdles. Montina, who came into the meet with a personal best of 56.76, ran 56.09 in the trials and 55.85 in the final to move into fourth place on the all-time performance list.

Senior Shana Joseph (pictured at left) placed in two sprints on the final day of the meet, coming in fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 100. Her time in the 200 final (26.23) moved her into second place on the Mules' all-time performance list.

The only Muhlenberg athlete besides Joseph to place in more than one individual event was freshman Emily Mitchell, who followed up her fourth-place finish in the long jump by coming in sixth in the triple. She also ran the lead leg on the 4x100 relay team that crossed the finish line eighth.

As she did in the 4x800, sophomore Victoria Cabellos passed a runner on the final leg of the 4x400 to secure a seventh-place finish for the Mules.

Freshman Evan Giannetti came in fourth in the javelin, giving Muhlenberg multiple placewinners in that event for the fifth time in the last eight years. Sophomore Jason Richwall ran the fourth-fastest 5000 meters in team history, knocking nearly 20 seconds off his previous best and coming in eighth.

complete results | photo gallery (Facebook)

Box Score
Women's Team Scores
1. Johns Hopkins 237.5
2. Swarthmore 121.5
3. Dickinson 95.5
4. Gettysburg 90
5. Haverford 81
6. Franklin & Marshall 68
7. Ursinus 60.5
8. Bryn Mawr 52.5
9. MUHLENBERG 39.5
10. McDaniel 12

Muhlenberg Placewinners
100m: 6. Shana Joseph, 13.14 (12.87q)
200m: 5. Shana Joseph, 26.23
800m: 8. Emily Davidson, 2:21.48 (2:19.62q)
Steeplechase: 7. Alyssa Curtis, 12:19.07
10,000m: 4. Jamie Pacilio, 40:17.90
4x100m: 8. Emily Mitchell, Rashida Haye, Jill Lissner, Emily Cooperstein, 54.07
4x400m: 7. Emily Davidson, Hayley Steckler, Nicole Gibki, Victoria Cabellos, 4:16.77
4x800m: 7. Hayley Steckler, Nicole Gibki, Sarah Hunter, Victoria Cabellos, 10:06.84
High jump: 5t. Alana Noehrenberg, 4-10½
Long jump: 4. Emily Mitchell, 17-4¼
Triple jump: 6. Emily Mitchell, 33-7¼
Discus: 6. Jess Voltaggio, 112-8
Heptathlon: 4. Rashida Haye, 3441

Men's Team Scores
1. Johns Hopkins 217
2. Haverford 140
3. Swarthmore 105
4. Dickinson 86
5. Gettysburg 78
6. McDaniel 71
7. Ursinus 62
8. MUHLENBERG 61
9. Franklin & Marshall 37

Muhlenberg Placewinners
200m: 5. Christopher Dasaro, 23.05
400m: 6. Jeff Alvarez, 50.87
800m: 7. Anthony Calantoni, 1:57.53 (1:57.13q)
1500m: 3. Corey Mullins, 4:01.26
Steeplechase: 8. Jacob Saxon, 10:03.29
5000m: 8. Jason Richwall, 15:02.58
110m hurdles: 6. Matt Polanco, 18:16
400m hurdles: 3. Kem Montina, 55.85
4x400m: 8. Luke Ullmann, Gregory Shanahan, Chris Funge, Mike Bessette, 3:33.15
4x800m: 4. Luke Ullmann, Jason Richwall, Corey Mullins, Anthony Calantoni, 7:55.59
Triple jump: 5. Cameron Ford, 41-9¾
Discus: 8. Michael Havkins, 140-7
Javelin: 1. Alex Mitton, 196-9; 4. Evan Giannetti, 172-10
Pole vault: 4. Zach Lill, 12-11¾; 5. Andrew Braun, 12-11¾