The Virginia Wesleyan University men's track and field team fared well at the Blue & Silver Challenge.
The Marlins were led by Da'Quan Smith, who captured first place in the triple jump with a winning mark of 13.37 meters, a great start to the outdoor season as that mark is ninth all time in school history. Smith also competed in the long jump, placing ninth with a leap of 5.56 meters. In that same event,
Jordan Hall earned a runner-up finish, taking second overall with a mark of 6.26 meters, while freshman
AJ Howard placed fourth with a jump of 6.13 meters.
On the track,
Jasha Brewington secured a second-place finish in the 110m hurdles, crossing in 15.43 with a 2.3 m/s wind. In the 200 meters,
Wataru Nakano finished 18th with a time of 25.06. Nakano also competed in the 400 meters, placing 16th in 56.33, while
Javon Hills led the Marlins in the event with a third-place finish, clocking 51.80. In the 800 meters. In the 1500 meters, senior
Ryan Koval posted a time of 4:19.31 to finish sixth overall, hitting a personal best on the day.
In the high jump, Marcus Rustin earned a third-place finish, clearing 1.76 meters. In the throwing events, freshman
Will Hepburn placed ninth in the discus with a throw of 37.18 meters hitting his personal best and placed 7th all time in programs history and added a 12th-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 10.49 meters to hit his second personal best of the day.
Opeyemi Kareem-Ojo threw the javelin with a sixth-place finish, throwing 35.00 meters, and also placed 15th in the shot put with a mark of 9.01 meters.
Malik Williams competed across multiple throwing events, placing 14th in the hammer throw with a distance of 35.53 meters hitting a personal best and posting a mark that ranks 6th all time in the record books. Williams was 16th in the javelin with a throw of 23.31 meters, and 14th in the shot put with a mark of 9.25 meters. Hepburn also competed in the hammer throw, finishing 19th with a distance of 28.92 meters.
Casey Black competed in the 10k and hit a personal best time of 34:17.21, a time that ranks fourth all-time in school history.
