Lions compete at JDL Fastrack

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's indoor track & field team competed in a mixed field of NCAA DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA teams Saturday afternoon at the JDL Fastrack. 

There were several highlights to note from today's meet – NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks, personal bests, and season bests.

Sprint/Hurdle Squad

Senior Jackson McClain led the way for the sprint crew. McClain auto-advanced to the prelims of the 60m based on his seed time of 6.87s. He won his heat of the prelims, sprinting to a NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark and new personal best, 6.85s. McClain sat in 2^nd overall at the end of prelims and advanced to finals. In finals, McClain placed 7^th with a time of 6.94s. McClain currently ranks 33^rd in DII with his time of 6.85s.

Ethan Lee set a season best in the 60m dash with a time of 7.27s. He also matched his personal best, set last year at USC. Lee placed 20^th overall in the men's 200m sprint, finishing in a time of 23.82s.

Traveon Howell placed 44^th overall in the 60m dash with a time of 7.64s.

Connor Cecil competed in the open 400, setting a new personal best of 56.37s. He improved by over a second. Cecil placed 25^th overall.

Jump Squad

Jared Benain competed in both long jump and triple jump. Benain advanced to the finals in both events, placing 2^nd overall in long jump with a jump of 6.82m. Benain is 4cm away from a new personal best and under less than a foot away from breaking the MHU men's long jump record. Benain placed 3^rd overall in triple jump with a mark of 14.46m.

Traveon Howell placed 33^rd overall with a jump of 5.27m. Wanya Martin placed 35^th overall with a jump of 4.89m.

Levi Higgins competed in his first meet of the year, placing 11^th with a jump of 1.82m.

Throws Squad

Jesse Shelton, Antonio Lorenzo, and Justus Shelton all competed in shot put and the weight throw. Jesse led the crew, advancing to the finals in both shot put and weight. Shelton placed 3^rd overall in shot put with a throw of 15.76m and 5^th overall in the weight with a throw of 14.2m.

Lorenzo placed 11^th in shot put with a throw of 13.15m and 10^th overall in weight throw, throwing a new personal best, 13.13m.

Justus Shelton placed 17^th in shot put with a throw of 12.41m and 14^th in the weight throw with a personal best 12.78m.

Distance Squad

Freshman Gabe Hunt competed in the 800m and 3000m. Hunt posted a 30^th place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:11.07. He placed 14^th overall in the 3000m with a personal best 9:17.72. Hunt shaved 12 seconds off his previous best 3000m.

Braxton Taft Cummings placed 15th in the 3000m with a new personal best 9:18.12. Cummings shaved 17 seconds off his previous best.

Maliki Pope placed 31^st in the 3000m finishing in a time of 10:11.48

Next, the men travel to Salem, Virginia on January 19^th-20^th to compete in the Finn Pincus Invitational hosted by Roanoke College.