RALEIGH, N.C. – Sophomore
Elliott Graves (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham Early College) captured the 400-meter hurdles to lead the Appalachian State men's track & field team at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by N.C. State.
Graves crossed the finish line nearly a half second ahead of the field, finishing in 52.74 seconds. Junior
Brandon Smith (Fayetteville, N.C./Douglas Byrd) also registered a top-five finish in the event, posting a season-best time of 53.39 seconds, which placed him fourth.
Senior
Ryan Hastings (Matthews, N.C./Porter Ridge) entered the meet ranked seventh in the nation in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.85. He would finish third in the event and better his season time, crossing the tape in 1:49.64.
Junior's
Tristian Shaver (Thomasville, N.C./Ledford) and
Michael Utecht (New Hill, N.C./Apex) each cleared 16-1.25 in the pole vault, which was tied for second.
In the triple jump, senior
Isaiah Relliford (Winston-Salem, N.C./White Oak) notched a third-place finish, covering 46-10.00. He also finished in a tie for 16
th place in the long jump, covering 21-1.50.
App State also had two relays register top-four finishes.
The 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore
Jabari Johnson (Yokosuka, Japan/Nile C. Kinnick), Smith, Hastings and Graves were third in a season-best time of 3:15.10.
The 4x1500-meter relay tandem of senior
Evan Georges (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic), senior
Collin Loy (Burlington, N.C./Southern Almance), sophomore
Michael Flanagan (Landenberg, Pa./Tatnall School) and freshman
Gable Dershem (Clayton, N.C./Cleveland) finished fourth in 16:05.12.
The Mountaineers will take next weekend off and will return to competition on April 13 and 14 at the Charlotte Invitational.
