Benco and Shields Lead Flashes Thursday at MAC Outdoor T&F Championships
5/11/2023 9:19:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
AKRON, Ohio – Scott Benco placed second in the javelin throw and Alexander Shields is halfway to repeating as decathlon champion as Kent State opened action at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday.
The Golden Flashes totaled 11 points in the two scored events on the opening day of competition to sit fourth in the team standings.
Benco launched the javelin 198'-2" on his first attempt of the day and earned All-MAC honors for the third year in a row. He has placed second each of the past two seasons after winning the event in his first try in 2021. Aaron Schmook also contributed to the team score, placing fifth with a throw of 178'-5".
In the opening day's final event, Shadrack Kipkosgei finished sixth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:45.44.
Shields totaled 3,861 points on the day to hold a 176-point lead in the decathlon. The junior placed first in each of the first three events, including a personal-best of 48'-9.75" in the shot put. Josh Dreves (3,397) and Mason Murphy (3,252) sit fourth and fifth, respectively, after five events. Murphy cleared 6'-3.25" to win the high jump.
Kent State had two student-athletes advance in each of the day's two running prelims. Asa Hodrick, and Dejon Manning qualified in the 200-meter dash, while Korie Davis II and Dontae Deas qualified in the 400-meter hurdles.
Friday's action begins with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles at 12 p.m. Field events will get underway at 1 p.m. with the long jump. Running trials will resume at 4:25 p.m. with the 110m hurdles.
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
Day 1 Standings
1. Miami – 15
2. Buffalo – 14
3. Eastern Michigan – 12
4. Kent State – 11
5. Akron – 10
Players Mentioned
