BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's track and field concluded action at the two-day Mountaineer Indoor Track Meet at the Holmes Center in Boone Saturday night. The men's team seized the team title totaling 155.50 points, and App State grabbed five first-place finishes.
On Friday, three Mountaineers opened up competition in the weight throw with Nathan Milch snatching third with a toss of 54-8 (16.66m), his second-best performance of the season. Nicolas Botett and Peter Kenn both produced personal-best marks with Botett throwing 45-4.25 (13.82m) to land ninth and Kenn hurling the weight out 44-6.25 (13.57m) to take 11th.
On Saturday, App State filled up a multitude of top spots on the day. Freshman Elliott Graves won his first competition of the season in the hurdles with a time of 7.61 (55H) and finished third in the 200 meters with a 22.83 effort. Teammates Andrew Spear and Brandon Smith landed in fourth and fifth in the 55-meter hurdles running two personal-bests of 7.80 and 7.82 respectively. In the 55-meter dash, senior William Buckley flashed across the finish line in 6.53 to take third place, and Antonio Marcano Jr. ran 6.61 to place seventh.
In the middle distance events, Ian Foley claimed the 800-meter title cruising past the finish line in 1:59.47. In the quarter mile, Jaxon Roberts landed in second sprinting across the finish in 52.12, and fifth was Michael Sean Doyle with a 53.85 effort. Lastly, Collin Loy and Chris Kelly had two great performances in the mile finishing the event with a one-two punch. Loy ran 4.22.68 to win his first-ever collegiate race in 2017 and Kelly crossed the end line in 4:25.30.
For the long distance race, Andrew Vandenberg landed in third place running a time of 9:12.96 in the 3,000 meters.
In the field events, freshman Tylen Noel soared to second place, his best finished so far in the season, producing a personal best of 23-5.50 (7.15m). Pole vaulters Phillip Thomas and Michael Utecht landed inside the top-three with Thomas winning the event and Utecht tying for third.
After clearing his winning jump of 16-6.75 (5.05m) (indoor pr), Thomas aimed to break the Holmes Center record of 17-1.50 by attempting 17-2 but fell short. Although he did not break the overall facility record, Phillips now owns the best performance ever recorded by a Mountaineer at the Holmes Center (previously 16-4.75 set by Ryan Twiford in 2001).
In the ring, the throwing crew was led by seniors Milch and Ellsworth Parham who grabbed their second consecutive top-three finish of the season. Milch threw a mark of 54-7.50 (16.65m) to take second, and Parham tossed the shot put 53-1 (16.18m) to land in third. Rounding out the top-three shots putters was Michael Albert who threw 46-11 (14.30m) to place seventh.
Mountaineer Track Meet Results
55m (prelim)-2. Antonio Marcano Jr., 6.58q; 3. William Buckley, 6.58q; 12. Jabari Johnson, 6.67; 14. Josh Hanna, 6.68; 19. Tylen Noel, 6.76; 20. Brandon Smith, 6.81
55m (final)- 3. William Buckley, 6.53; 7. Antonio Marcano Jr., 6.61
55H (prelim)- 4. Elliott Graves, 7.74q; 5. Andrew Spear, 7.82q; 6. Brandon Smith, 7.93q
55H (final)- 1. Elliott Graves, 7.61; 4. Andrew Spear, 7.80 (pr);5. Brandon Smith, 7.82 (pr)
200m- 3. Elliott Graves, 22.83; 6. Josh Hanna, 23.19; 17. Jaxon Roberts, 24.28
300m- 2. Jabari Johnson,35.49; 3. Jordan Alexander Johnson, 36.07; 4. Andrew Spear, 36.23; 5. Antonio Marcano Jr., 37.13; 7. William Buckley, 38.29
400m- 2. Jaxon Roberts, 52.14; 5. Michael Sean Doyle, 53.85
800m- 1. Ian Foley, 1:59.47
Mile- 1. Collin Loy, 4.22.68; 2. Chris Kelly, 4:25.30; DNF. Ryan Shannon; DNS. Ian Foley
3,000m- 3. Andrew Vandenberg, 9:12.96
4x300m Relay- 1. B. Smith, J. Hanna, E. Graves, J. Johnson, 2:22.83
Long Jump- 2. Tylen Noel, 23-5.50 (7.15m) (pr); DNS Jordan Alexander Johnson
High Jump- T-5. Jordan Dale, 6-2.75 (1.90m); NH. Nick Hinton; DNS. Daniel Lauffenburger
Pole Vault- 1. Phillip Thomas, 16-6.75 (5.05m) (indoor pr); T-3. Michael Utecht 15-7 (4.75m) (t-pr); NH. Matt Layne; NH. Tristian Shaver
Shot Put- 2. Nathan Milch, 54-7.50 (16.65m); 3. Ellsworth Parham, 53-1 (16.18m); 7. Michael Albert, 46-11 (14.30m);14. Nicolas Botett, 44-5.25 (13.54m)
Weight Throw- 3. Nathan Milch, 54-8 (16.66m); 9. Nicolas Botett, 45-4.25 (13.82m); 11. Peter Kenn, 44-6.25 (13.57m); 14. Michael Albert, 40-5 (12.32m)
Up Next
App State will roll down to Huntington, W.V. for the Marshall Invitational Jan.27-28.
