Tyrrell and Dillen Sit Atop Decathlon Standings After Day 1 at MAC Outdoor T&F Championships
5/14/2026 8:24:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
MUNCIE, Ind. – Kent State's Linkon Tyrrell and Jack Dillen own the two top spots in the decathlon after the opening day of competition at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday. The Golden Flashes sit third in the team standings with 23 points.
Tyrrell totaled 3,705 points over the first five events of the multis competition and placed second in the first four of the day. He recorded new personal-bests in the 100-meter dash (11.23), shot put (44'-3") and high jump (6'-1.50"). Dillen (3,471 points) won both running events on Thursday with a time of 11.12 seconds in the 100m and 49.97 seconds in the 400-meter dash.
Kent State's highest-scoring event on Day 1 was javelin. Payton Shippee placed third with a season-best throw of 203'-1" and Aaron Schmook was eighth with a mark of 167'-9".
Baidy Ba clocked the fastest 10,000-meter run by a Flash since 2010 and finished third in the lone running event final of the day. Ba's time of 29:52.76 is the fifth best overall in program history.
In the discus, Desmond Boyd placed fifth and Donovan Crawford was right behind in sixth. Boyd's best attempt soared 170-3" and Crawford's top throw was 168'-1".
Braxton Quaintance and Joel Enander accounted for Kent State's final three points. Both cleared 14'-6" in the pole vault to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.
The Flashes had five runners advance to Saturday's final during prelim races. Ryan Gruss, Sean Callahan Jr. and Zavion Mattox advanced in the 200-meter dash, while Beau Harkelroad and Owen Miller moved on in the 400-meter hurdles.
Competition resumes on Friday with the hammer throw at 10 a.m.
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Day 1 Standings
1. Akron – 59
2. UMass – 25
3. Kent State – 23
t4. Miami – 21
t4. Eastern Michigan – 21
6. Buffalo – 7
