WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's track and field finshed up day one at the Southern Conference Indoor Championships in first place with 60 points.

The distance relay team of Michael Ellis, Joshua Hanna, Raphael Rojas and Chris Anderson placed fourth with a time of 10:20.95 and earned five points for the Mountaineers.

Kenley Joseph qualified for the finals on Sunday, placing fifth in the 60m hurdles preliminary round.

Marshall McRae posted a third-place finish in the 60m dash with a time of 6.87, while William Buckley placed seventh, each qualifying for Sunday's finals. Buckley also qualified for the finals in the 200m run, posting a time of 22.27, a personal record.

Rojas was first in the preliminary round of the 400m run, while Hanna and Trey Edgerton followed in seventh and eighth-place.

Kyle McFoy earned six points for Appalachian in the 3,000m run with a time of 8;27.46 and finishing in third-place.

Nathan Milch and John Leonard each tallied points for the Apps in the shot put as Milch placed fourth with a throw of 48-3.50 and Leonard placed sixth with a throw of 47-9.25.

High jumpers Samuel Allen and Darrow Goff each came up big for the Mountaineers as Allen finished second, clearing a height of 6-8.25 and Goff finished fifth with a height of 6-2.25.

Phillip Thomas was a highlight of the day as he captured the pole vault title for Appalachian, clearing a height of 15-5.00. Alex Lomax and Matt Layne followed in third and fourth-place.

Henry Bustle and Jamal Tiller posted fourth and fifth-place finishes in the long jump with jumps of 23-0.75 and 23-0.00, respectively.

The Mountaineers currently lead the competition after the first day with 60 points. Samford follows in second-place with 51 points.

Appalachian will return to action on Sunday, March 2 for day two of the SoCon Indoor Championships.