ROME, Ga. - Coming off a Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) preseason ranking of 4
th this week. The Scots were looking to prove themselves at their outdoor opener, featuring competition against the Piedmont Lions, who are the preseason favorites to win the CCS in April.
Action kicked off in the 10,000m, where sophomore
Tyler Tangel and freshman
Colin Baker made their season debuts. Tangel finished in 10
th place with a time of 36:16.60, lapping most of the field, while Baker followed closely behind in 17th place with a time of 37:48.96. Baker, also known as "Pumpernickel" by his teammates, stated, "I enjoyed the race, and it was nice to see the team rally behind me as I ran." In the 1500m, sophomore
James LeNeve finished in 4:17.62, claiming the 1500m school record.
Paul Kanios,
Nathan Butler, and
Gavin Hill also posted personal records, while
Sam Cocchia posted a strong season best.
On the sprints side, Louisville transfer
Clarence McLean broke the 400m school record, finishing in 4
th place, and posted a time of 49.37. While in the 200m, McLean finished in 8
th in 22.05. In the 100m,
LaRue Tisby finished in 26
th with a time of 11.40, and
Zedrick Drew followed in 27
th with a time of 11.48. Coach
Sam Greenspan stated, "I thought that the sprint squad carried our momentum very well from the indoor conference meet into our outdoor opener."
In the 800m, freshman phenom Adyn Elliot wrote his name in program history as the first runner to run under 2:00.00 in the 800m. Elliott finished 5
th with a time of 1:59.77, obliterating the previous 800m school record. Coach
Kaitlyn Carringer-Adams was not surprised by Elliott's performance, stating, "It is a really great feat for a freshman at his first outdoor meet, but Adyn ran exactly as we planned".
On the throws side, senior
Joshua Panetta smashed the hammer school record with a throw of 43.48m, placing 6
th. In the discus,
Skylan Pleasant finished in 11
th with a throw of 37.50m, followed by
Cam Robinson in 12th who threw 37.02m. In the shot put,
Scott Meredith posted a throw of 10.70m, finishing 17
th.
Freshman
Jackson Lakeman continued to show why he is a force to be reckoned with. In pole vault, Lakeman finished 10
th with a jump of 3.92m against experienced competition. In the long jump, Freshman
Manny Palmer opened up his outdoor campaign with a jump of 6.44m, finishing 10
th, and 5
th with a jump of 13.42 in the triple jump.
Senior,
Steve Cope started his steeplechase campaign, finishing in 2
nd with a time of 10:37.76. Elliott, making his steeplechase debut, finished 3
rd with a time of 10:43.76, being just "outkicked" by Cope in the final 200m of the race. Cocchia also placed 6
th with a time of 12:55.28. Cope overall described the team performance as, "We arrived. Made a statement. We'll keep doing so."
Men's Track and Field competes next at the Cumberlands Early Spring Meet on Friday, March 13, as they chase everlasting glory at CCS Championships in April.
