RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Union University men's track & field team delivered a strong overall performance at the NSU Invitational, highlighted by multiple event victories and several personal-best marks.
"We had a very strong performance at the NSU Invitational, starting with our field events where we truly dominated the competition," said VUU Head Track & Field Coach Franck Charles.
Field Events
The Panthers' field athletes set the tone for the day with a series of top finishes.
Zachary Jones led the way with two first-place finishes. Jones recorded a personal-best throw of 53.31 meters in the discus, which currently ranks 12th in NCAA Division II, and followed with a season-best mark of 16.77 meters in the shot put, ranking 20th nationally.
Timothy Butler also claimed a victory, winning the hammer throw with a mark of 50.72 meters while adding a third-place finish in the discus at 45.17 meters.
Carson Calhoun secured a first-place finish in the high jump, continuing the Panthers' dominance in the field events.
Dequan Boone placed second in the shot put with a throw of 15.93 meters and also posted a 45.44-meter mark in the discus.
Jabari Wilson finished second in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 40.16 meters.
In the jumps,
Jayvien Pinnock placed second in the triple jump while
Tyshawn Brown finished third.
Trevion Hooker recorded a personal-best mark of 15.42 meters to place fourth in the shot put, while Jeremiah Palacious finished fourth in the long jump.
In the javelin,
Rayvar Haughton placed fourth and
Patrick Taylor finished fifth.
Running Events
The Panthers also posted several strong results on the track.
Antonio Smith captured the 110-meter hurdles title with a personal-best time of 14.02 seconds, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division II.
Tremayne Cowart earned his first collegiate victory by winning the 800 meters with a personal-best time of 1:54.28.
Rodgers Korir placed second in the 5000 meters and fourth in the 1500 meters, while
Barrian Authurs finished third in the 110-meter hurdles.
Virginia Union's 4x100-meter relay team placed third overall, and the Panthers' 4x400-meter relay B team also finished third.
Keon Koonce added another solid distance result with a fourth-place finish in the 5000 meters.
"I'm very proud of this team," Charles said. "We are continuing to improve and are heading in the right direction as we prepare for the conference championship in three weeks. There are still a few things to clean up, but the progress is clear. It was especially great to see Tremayne Cowart getting back to the level we know he's capable of. Let's stay focused and keep building."
Virginia Union will return to competition on Saturday, April 11, at the JMU Invitational hosted by James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
