Lions Win Three Events at Appalachian Open

BOONE, N.C.- The Mars Hill men's track and field team won three events and broke a school-record at the Appalachian Open Outdoor Meet, held Friday at Appalachian State University.

Derek Gibson, Cesar Reyes and Eric Blackburn all earned first-place finishes for the Lions. Gibson won the 5000 Meter Run, Reyes placed first in the Steeplechase and Blackburn won the 800 Meter Run. Cameron Shaw ran a new school-record time in the 200 Meter Dash. The Appalachian Open featured performers from NCAA Division I and II, as well as NAIA.

Gibson ran a time of 16:18.28 to win the 5000 Meter Run. Gibson added a sixth-place finish in the 1500 Meter Run with a time of 4:17.62, which was second-best among Division II performers.

Reyes won the Steeplechase with a time of 10:34.35. Teammate Nathan Wheeler placed second in the event.

Blackburn won the 800 Meter Run with a time of 1:58.43. That time was five seconds faster than the top Division I time at the event, and narrowly missed breaking a school-record. Daniel Lerner placed eighth in the same event.

Shaw's new school-record time in the 200 Meter Dash was clocked at 21.85 seconds. That broke a three-year old record by 0.3 seconds and was good for second-place overall. Shaw also placed fifth in the 100 Meter Dash.

Deandre Vines also turned in strong performances, with a fifth-place finish in the 200 Meter Dash and a sixth-place finish in the 100 Meter Dash.

Travis Riner added a second-place finish in the Shot Put with a throw of 49'-1.00".

Sean Rapp notched a pair of top 10 finishes, placing seventh in the 800 Meter Run and eighth in the 1500 Meter Run.

Rounding out Mars Hill's top performers were Brady Adcock with a second-place finish in the 5000 Meter Run and Isaac Phyall with a seventh-place finish in the 110 Meter Hurdles.

Mars Hill will compete in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships, which begin Friday, Apr. 19 in Hickory, N.C.