Rio men set more records, hit national qualifying marks

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande men's track and field team collected six first-place finishes and a second-place showing as a team at the University of Charleston's Golden Eagle Invitational, while also hitting a pair of national qualifying standards and setting two school records at the University of Cincinnati's Oliver Nikoloff Invitational over the weekend.
     Sophomore Troy Mason (Grenville, Grenada) was involved in both of the school records and national qualifying marks in rainy Cincinnati.
     Mason took first-place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.41, hitting the "B" qualifying standard and smashing the previous school record of 10.63, which was set by Tellis Horne on May 10, 2018.
     Mason was also part of the RedStorm 4x400 relay team, which also hit the "B" standard and set a new school record by finishing third in a time of 3:15.35.
     The group, which also qualified for the NAIA indoor national championship, also included junior Trevon Houston (Cleveland, OH), junior Spencer Harris (Gallipolis, OH) and graduate senior Chase McClay (McDermott, OH).
     The quartet surpassed the previous school record of 3:16.50 set by the collective efforts of David Croom, Josh Kraner, Brandon Baston and Josh Perry back in 2008.
     At the meet in Charleston, Rio's list of first-place showings was led by junior Tyler Jenkins (Barnesville, OH), who won the 1,500-meter run in a time of 3:54.51.
     Freshman Wes Taylor (Lancaster, OH) also won the 3,000-meter Steeplechase by crossing in 9:36.25, while sophomore Rowen Gerlach (New Haven, OH) took top honors in the discus throw with a heave of 48.31m, junior Daunevyn Woodson (Gallipolis, OH) won the long jump with a leap covering 6.60m and senior Andrew Skaggs (Minford, OH) was first in the triple jump with an effort of 12.80m.
     The RedStorm's 4x400 relay entry won the event in Charleston with a time of 3:29.61. The quartet was comprised of freshman Anthony Portis, Jr. (Washington Court House, OH), sophomore Ashton Beverly (Chillicothe, OH), sophomore Kasy Science (Marietta, OH) and freshman John Young (Leroy, OH).
     As a team, Rio Grande tallied 154 points in its second-place finish. Host University of Charleston was first with 234, while Glenville (WV) State was third with 91 points.
     In addition to the relay team win and the five first-place showings individually, the RedStorm recorded 32 other Top 10 finishes, including a trio of runner-up performances.
     Freshman Bryson Smith (Frankfort, OH) was second in the long jump at 6.31m, freshman Anton Meinlschmidt (Weibeyoke, Germany) was second in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase with a time of 9:37.50 and freshman Logen Justice (Lancaster, OH) placed second in the high jump with an effort of 1.80m.
     The remaining list of superlatives included Beverly, who was third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.93; Gerlach, who was third in the hammer throw at 51.79m; Smith, who was third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.96m, ninth in the 100 with a time of 11.26 and ninth in the 200 with a time of 23.29; freshman Keegan McKinney (Baltimore, OH), who placed third in the discus throw at 42.86m and fourth in the shot put with a toss of 14.63m; freshman Dalton Ferguson (Huntington, WV), who placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.65 and sixth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:00.73; sophomore Jevon Shuriah (Toll Gate, Jamaica), who finished fourth in the 400-meter run with a time of 52.97; freshman Ryder Crawford (Owensville, OH), who grabbed fourth place in the 1,500-meter run after crossing in 4:02.50; Skaggs, who was fourth in the long jump at 6.12m and fifth in the 110 hurdles with a mark of 16.12; senior Marshall Jackson (Zanesfield, OH), who was fifth in both the discus and hammer throws with efforts of 39.95m and 50.47m, respectively; Justice, who took fifth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 58.62 and sixth in the 110 hurdles after crossing in 16.30; senior Danuel Persinger (Glouster, OH), was fifth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:04.06; Science, who was sixth in the 1,500 by finishing in 4:06.76; junior Hunter Blagg (Pedro, OH), who was sixth in the long jump at 5.68m; senior Triston Malmstrom (McArthur, OH), who was sixth in the hammer throw at 43.82m; Woodson, who placed seventh in the 100 with a time of 11.21 and 10th in the 200 at 23.35; junior Mugisha Pomossene (Dayton, OH), who was seventh in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:51.71; senior Ryan Weber (Bidwell, OH), who was seventh in the discus after a toss of 38.16m; Young, who placed eighth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:13.88; sophomore Nick Knight (Proctorville, OH), who finished ninth in the shot put at 13.14m; freshman Eli Fliehman (Sabina, OH), who was ninth in the 800 with a time of 2:09.47; and freshman Jacob Faught (Georgetown, OH), who took 10th place in the 800 at 2:10.38.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to be back in action this weekend at part of three different meets.
     Racewalkers will be at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. on Friday at 4:30 p.m., while a large portion of the squad is heading to the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic in Lynchburg, Va. on Friday and Saturday.
     Others will participate in the Lee University Invite in Cleveland, Tenn. on Friday and Saturday.