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Rio Grande's Kyle Lightner had two first -place performances - one as an individual and the other as a relay team member- in Friday's Larry Cole Invitational at Ohio Northern University.
Rio Grande's Kyle Lightner had two first -place performances - one as an individual and the other as a relay team member- in Friday's Larry Cole Invitational at Ohio Northern University.
Posted: Jan 20, 2024

Lightner part of two first-place showings for Rio men

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Rio Grande Sports Information
     ADA, Ohio - Kyle Lightner recorded a first place outing as an individual and was part of another first place relay finish to lead the University of Rio Grande men's track & field team at Friday's Larry Cole Invitational hosted by Ohio Northern University.
     Lightner, who set a new school record in the 800-meter run one week earlier at the Marshall Alumni Classic, won the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:36.62 and was part of the RedStorm's 4,000-meter Distance Medley Relay team which took the top spot in a time of 10:49.45.
     The Peebles, Ohio senior was joined on the relay unit by junior Danuel Persinger (Bidwell, OH), senior Chase McClay (McDermott, OH) and freshman Ashton Beverly (Chillicothe, OH).
     Beverly also finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.22, Persinger was third in the 1,000 with a time of 2:40.84 and McClay was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles after finishing in 9.01 seconds.
     As a team, Rio Grande finished fourth among the six participating schools with 61 points.
     Host Ohio Northern took team honors with 198 points, while Manchester was a distant second at 86 points. Adrian College placed third with 72 points.
     Also posting scoring finishes for the RedStorm was Rowen Gerlach (New Haven, WV), who was third in the shot put with a heave covering 13.77m; sophomore Hunter Blagg (Pedro, OH), who took third in the pole vault with an effort of 3.35m; junior Jorden Williams (Springfield, OH), who was fourth in the 400-meter-run with a time of 55.15; freshman Victor Day (Pedro, OH), who was fifth in three events - the long jump (6.26m), the high jump (1.80m) and the triple jump (12.01m).
     Rio's 4x400 relay team - composed of freshman Brayden Adams (Ironton, OH), Beverly, freshman JJ Larue (Chillicothe, OH) and freshman Zachary Whitley (Wheelersburg, OH) - placed sixth in a time of 3:49.22.
     On Saturday, three members of the RedStorm ran in the men's 5,000-meter run at the Centre College Indoor Showcase in Danville, Ky.
     Sophomore Tyler Jenkins (Barnesville, OH) won the event - and met the "A" qualifying standard for the NAIA National Championships - with a time of 15:04.68.
     Freshman Kasy Science (Marietta, OH) finished fifth in a time of 16:12.05, while fellow frosh Teddy Jencson (Baltimore, OH) was 12th in a time of 17:55.44.
     The finishes by Jenkins and Science allowed Rio to post a seventh place finish among the 12 participating schools.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the IWU Midwest Classic hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.