CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
De'Shawn Ballard and
Peter Kenn turned in top-10 all-time performances in program history to lead Appalachian State men's track & field at the Virginia Grand Prix on Friday and Saturday.
Ballard crossed fourth overall in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.24 seconds. His time represents a PR and is tied for the seventh fastest time in the event in program history.
Kenn posted PR a toss of 186-1 (56.72m) in the hammer throw to finish seventh in the event. His mark moves him into eighth all-time in program history in the hammer throw.
Jalen Virgil recorded the lone individual victory for the Mountaineers in the meet, finishing first in the 100-meter dash. He crossed the finish line in 10.33 seconds, which was just .04 seconds short of his PR. Also, in the 100-meter dash,
Jabari Johnson finished fourth with a PR time of 10.52 seconds.
Virgil teamed with
Brenton Ervin, Ballard and Johnson for a first-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay in 40.23 seconds.
Michael Albert registered a PR in the discus by over six feet, finishing second with a mark of 158-5 (48.30m). Kenn was fourth in the event, covering 151-4 (46.14m).
Tristian Shaver continued his strong outdoor season, clearing 16-8.00 (5.08m) to finish second.
The Black and Gold placed two in the top eight of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Lawson Benfield finished fourth with a time of 9:27.90 and
Zachary Mercer crossed eighth in 9:50.04.
Andrew Underdal placed third in the open high jump, clearing a season-best height of 6-3.25 (1.91m), while
Daniel Lauffenburger was fourth in the high jump invite also clearing 6-3.25 (1.91m).
Elliott Graves finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.66 seconds.
Dylan Blankenship turned in a PR in the 400-meter hurdles with a second-place finish in 54.33 seconds, while
Sean Doyle posted a season-best time of 1:55.95 in the 800-meter run to finish seventh.
In the 5,000-meter run,
Ben Cignarale was seventh with a time of 15:19.32 and
Luke Bennett was right behind in eighth with a time of 15:23.60.
App State will shift its focus to the Sun Belt Championships, which run from May 10 to May 12 in Jonesboro, Ark.
