Flashes Men Close MAC Indoor T&F Championships Day 1 Strong with DMR Victory
2/24/2023 9:59:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – A historic distance medley relay race by Trey Double, Kyle Sommer, Dylan McBride and Baidy Ba finished the opening day of action at the Mid-American Conference Men's Track and Field Championship and provided momentum for Kent State heading into Saturday.
Ba surged ahead of the pack with 800 meters remaining and was the first runner across the finish line in a time of 10:02.65, giving the Golden Flashes their first ever title in the event.
Alexander Shields' busy day was highlighted by a second-place finish in the long jump. Shields soared 23'-9" on his final attempt of the competition, just an inch off his personal-best. The junior ran the fastest qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 7.88 seconds. Shields also takes a 132-point lead in the heptathlon into Saturday. He took first in the 60-meter dash and long jump to start the seven-event competition and finished the day with 3,026 points.
Two additional Flashes scored in the long jump for a total of 13 points, their highest scoring event of the day. Amare Hall recorded a jump of 23'-6" for fourth place and Del'Mario Hairston had a top mark of 22'-11.5" for sixth.
Kristian Kneffler was one of three pole vault competitors to clear 17'-1" and placed third as a result of the missed attempts tiebreaker. The height is a new indoor PR for Kneffler, who sits fifth on Kent State's all-time indoor performance list. Josh Dreves added a point to the team score and finished sixth with a height of 11'-0.25".
Nolan Landis and Tony Lambert posted PRs in the weight throw to round out scoring in field events. Landis' throw of 54'-3" was good for fifth and Lambert placed sixth with a top toss of 47'-7".
In the only individual track final on opening day, Joe Farley finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run. Farley's time of 14:11.74 is the second fastest in school history.
Ayden Bath and Mason Murphy had strong starts in the heptathlon. Bath sits in second with 2,894 points and Murphy is in fifth with 2,580 points.
In running event prelims, the Flashes secured 14 entries for finals races on Saturday. Asa Hodrick, Jaheim Jones and Dejon Manning all qualified in both the 60-meter-dash and 200-meter dash. Bath and Shields advanced in the 60m hurdles. Korie Davis II, Logan Doyle and Jonathan Solomon moved on in the 400-meter dash. Evan Alten, Quintin Cooks and Ethan Yost qualified in the 800-meter run.
The final day of the 2023 MAC Indoor Men's Track and Field Championships begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will be streamed on ESPN3.
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Players Mentioned
