BOONE, N.C. – The Appalachian State University men's track and field team enjoyed much success in its indoor season opener. The Mountaineers finished second at the Appalachian Open, which they hosted on Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6. App State finished with 109.5 points.

Sophomore William Buckley had a tremendous day on the track for the Mountaineers. Buckley broke App State's indoor 200m dash record at Holmes Center with a second-place time of 21.77. The sophomore also placed first in the 55m dash with a time of 6.45 – also a personal-best.

Freshman Kimani Hoffman also began the season on a high note. Hoffman finished fourth in the triple jump behind senior teammate Henry Bustle. Hoffman jumped 48-4.75, while Bustle jumped 48-5.25.

Hoffman also clinched the long jump with a first-place jump of 24-1.50. The freshman also third in the 55m dash with a time of 6.46, while also a member of the Mountaineers' second-place 4x300m relay team who finished in a time of 2:22.78.

Two other first-place finishes for the Mountaineers came in the mile and 800m runs. Freshman Ariel Shores finished first in the mile with a time of 4:38.69, edging second-place by nearly two-tenths of a second. In the 800m run, freshman Ryan Hastings nipped his second-place opponent and won with a time of 1:56.38.

The Apps got a third-place finish in the pole vault with sophomore Matt Layne clearing 15-1.00, while earning 5.50 team points. 

In the shot put, the Black and Gold earned a second and fourth-place finish with Nathan Milch and John Leonard. Milch threw a distance of 50-6.25 and Leonard threw 49-11.25 – both indoor personal-bests.

App State will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the Wake Forest Invitational.