WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Appalachian State men's track and field returned to action at the Wake Forest Open Friday, kicking off the 2010 outdoor season following a three-week layoff after claiming their second consecutive SoCon Indoor championship.

Senior Phil Mitchell opened his final outdoor campaign with a second place finish in the 5000m run Friday. The Glastonbury, Conn. native turned in a time of 14:48.12 to lead a strong Mountaineer contingency in the 5k. Sophomore Sean Soderman earned an 11th place finish with a personal-best time of 15:06.87, while freshman Will Raby and senior Alec Meyer claimed the 13th and 14th spots with times of 15:11.29 and 15:13.14, respectively.

Sophomore AJ Dohanic qualified for tomorrow's 110 hurdles final with a time of 15.24. Dohanic's time was the 14th fastest of 55 competitors on the day and just .15 off his personal best.

The freshman sprint tandem of Landon Powell and Justin Thomas qualified for tomorrow's 100m dash finals. Powell turned in the day's sixth fastest time with a 10.74 effort, while Thomas was just behind with a 10. 77, which ranked eighth. Senior John Svoboda turned in a time of 49.63 to earn a 25th place finish in the 400m dash for the Mountaineers Friday.

Sophomore Darius Purcell earned a third-place finish in the high jump Friday. The Fayetteville, N.C. native opened the outdoor season with a height of 6-5.50. Freshman Colin Reber finished 11th with a mark of 6-1.50.

Jerod Gardner and Malcolm Styers earned top-10 finishes for the Mountaineers in the shot put Friday. Gardner placed sixth with a 50-3.25 effort, while Styers finished eighth after a 49-5.50 throw. In the discus, sophomore Jared Stalling placed fourth after a new personal-best toss of 160-10.

Freshman Alex Taylor kicked off the outdoor season in style Friday, placing third in the 800m run with a time of 1:52.73. Seniors Nick O'Keefe (1:55.22, 17th overall), Josh Houser (1:56.27, 26th) and Andrew Yarchin (1:56.54, 28th) also turned in strong performances for the Apps in the 800m.

In the 10,000m run, Brian Graves led a crew of Mountaineers with a 31:15.03 time to earn a ninth place finish. Freshman Michael Lilley finished 11th with a time of 31:24.79, and Burk Staub and Mike Walker finished 16th and 17th with times of 32:03.42 and 32:15.32, respectively. Lilley and Staub also qualified for spots in this summer's USATF Jr. Nationals, surpassing the qualifying mark of 32:45.

The Mountaineers will return to action tomorrow in day two of the Wake Forest Open, GoASU.com will have a full recap upon completion of the meet.