Rio men show no let-up, cruise to conference crown
Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande men bolted to a significant lead following Friday's opening day of action in the 2025 River States Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
On Saturday, the RedStorm closed things out by keeping the pedal to the metal.
Seven first-place finishes on day two helped head coach Matt Paxton's squad win the overall team championship by more than 160 points.
Rio Grande finished with 284 total points, while Shawnee State and Indiana University East tied for runner-up honors with 123 points each.
Sophomore Troy Mason (Grenville, Grenada) led the RedStorm's effort by winning both the 400-meter dash (49.21) and the 200-meter dash (21.35).
Mason also finished third in the 100 meters (10.87), less than a tenth of a second behind junior teammate Daunevyn Woodson (Gallipolis, OH). For his efforts, Mason was honored as the RSC's Track Athlete of the Year.
Woodson's winning time in the 100 was 10.79. He also scored points by placing seventh in the 200 with a time of 23.01.
Junior Tyler Jenkins (Barnesville, OH) earned his second first-place finish in as many days, winning the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:43.15, while sophomore Kasy Science (Marietta, OH) took top honors in the 800-meter run (1:54.78) and finished as the runner-up in the 1,500-meter run (4:01.67).
Freshman Keegan McKinney (Baltimore, OH) had Rio's other first-place showing as an individual, winning the shot put with a heave of 16.00m. He also scored points with a seventh-place outing in the discus throw (41.35m).
The RedStorm's remaining win came from its 4x100 relay team - comprised of Woodson, Mason, graduate senior Chase McClay (McDermott, OH) and junior Trevon Houston (Cleveland, OH) - which crossed the line in a time of 42.35.
Other individual scoring performances for Rio Grande came from sophomore Rowen Gerlach (New Haven, WV), who was second in the discus throw with a toss of 45.59m and third in the shot put with a toss of 15.37m; McClay, who was second in the 400-meter hurdles (55.38), fifth in 400-meter dash (50.46) and seventh in the 100 (12.23); Houston, who was second in the 400 (49.59), fifth in the 200 (22.51) and eighth in the 100 (12.45); senior Andrew Skaggs (Minford, OH), who was second in the triple jump with a leap covering 12.84m and sixth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.68; freshman Dalton Ferguson (Huntington, WV), who placed second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.41 and seventh in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.12; junior Spencer Harris (Gallipolis, OH), who placed third in the 200 after crossing in 22.30 and sixth in the 400 with a time of 51.04; freshman Bryson Smith (Frankfort, OH), who finished fourth in the triple jump with an effort of 12.61m; senior Danuel Persinger (Glouster, OH), who was fifth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:18.11; sophomore Ashton Beverly (Chillicothe, OH), who was sixth in the both the 800 (1:59.38) and the 1,500 (4:09.30); freshman Logen Justice (Lancaster, OH), who was sixth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.02; and freshman Wes Taylor (Lancaster, OH), who took eighth place in the 1,500 with a time of 4:10.52.
Rio's 4x400 relay unit - made up of Beverly, freshman Anthony Portis, Jr. (Washington Court House, OH), Science and McClay - also scored by placing fifth in a time of 3:27.77.
Paxton won Coach of the Year honors, an accolade he also earned during the indoor season.
The two other individual awards handed out went to athletes from Shawnee State University.
Alan Austin was honored as the Field Athlete of the Year following wins in both the javelin and the discus, while Newcomer of the Year kudos were claimed by Luke Rader, who was the top jumper in attendance with wins in the long jump and the triple jump.