BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –
Jordan Dale,
Elliott Graves and
Tristian Shaver all won individual title to lead Appalachian State men's track & field at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
The Mountaineers finished sixth with 63 points at the two-day meet. UT Arlington won the team title with 130 points, Arkansas State was second with 119.5 points and Texas State was third with 119 points.
Dale captured the high jump, marking the first indoor title of his career. He cleared 6-10.75 (2.10m), which tied his PR in the event. He becomes the 11
th indoor champion in the high jump in program history.
Graves earned his first indoor hurdle title in his career, after winning the 60-meter hurdles. He crossed the finish line in 8.07 seconds, capturing the championship by .01 seconds. He becomes the fifth App State student-athlete to win a conference title in the 60-meter hurdles and first since Stanley Broaden in 2013. Graves' time of 8.07 seconds also is tied for the sixth fastest time in the event in program history.
On Monday the Mountaineers also won a title when
Tristian Shaver became the 16
th student-athlete in program history to win the indoor pole vault, clearing 17-0.00 (5.18m) in a jump off. He becomes the first champion in the event since 2014.
The 5,000-meter run saw
Gable Dershem earn all-conference honors with a third place finish in a PR time of 14:44.12.
Isaac Benz was seventh in the event with a PR time of 14:56.89 and
Ryan Brown finished eighth in a PR time of 15:00.94.
Also on Monday, the Mountaineers placed three in the top-eight in the 3,000-meter run.
Dakota Mendenhall crossed fourth in 8:27.58, Benz was right behind in fifth with a time of 8:28.82 and
Michael Flanagan recorded an eighth place finish in 8:32.86. All three times represent PR's for each runner.
The DMR team of
Ben Cignarale,
Sean Doyle, Dershem and Graves closed out Monday with a fourth place finish in 10:20.51.
Peter Kenn set a PR in the weight throw, covering 56-7.50 (17.26m) to finish eighth in the event.
The 4x400-meter relay team of
John Fravel,
Jabari Johnson, Doyle and Graves teamed up for a sixth place finish in 3:20.26.
Jabari Johnson recorded a pair of top-eight finishes for App State. He finished fifth in the 200-meter dash in 21.83 seconds and placed eighth in the 60-meter dash in 7.18 seconds.
Appalachian State will turn its attention towards the outdoor season, which begins at the 49er Classic on Mar. 15 and Mar. 16.
