Men's Track and Field Has Strong Showing at Blue Raider Invitational
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Belmont men's track and field team began the outdoor season with a strong showing in its first competition, recording 17 top-15 finishes at the Blue Raider Invitational, hosted by Middle Tennessee State, over the weekend.
In the field events, one of the top throwers in the country continued to dominate. Senior Joe Frye (Roscommon, Mich.) took first place in both the shot put (15.59m) and the weight throw (19.02m). Classmate Pierce Greenberg (Raleigh, N.C.) finished fourth in the weight throw (13.91m) and eighth in the shot put (11.96m). Senior Matt Fiedler (LaGrange, Ill.) was sixth in the high jump (1.77m) and 15th in the long jump (6.26m).
In the long distance running events, freshman Erick Kigen (Eldoret, Kenya) was the team's top finisher, taking second in the One Mile with a time of 4:19.55. Classmate Marcus Bridger-Wilkinson (Newbury, UK) finished fourth in the event with a time of 4:23.36 and he was followed by sophomore Josh Helton (Franklin, Tenn.), senior Daniel Jones (White Bluff, Tenn.) and sophomore Brandon Mahaney (Lafayette, Tenn.), who finished 10th (4:31.03), 12th (4:33.54) and 13th (4:34.96), respectively. Sophomore Matt Miller (LaPorte, Ind.) was the top Bruin finisher, taking fourth in the 3000m with a time of 8:59.21. Freshman Evan Scruton (Columbus, Ind.) finished sixth in the same event (9:36.08).
The Bruins also fared well in the mid-distance and sprints events. Freshman Zach Gray (Lee's Summitt, Mo.) was the top BU finisher in the 200m, taking 18th with a time of 23.09. He was followed by classmate Caleb Darnell in 25th (23.57), Fiedler in 31st (23.80) and junior Sam Parr (St. Louis, Mo.) in 37th (24.39). Darnell also led Belmont on the 400m, finishing eighth (52.24) while freshman Tyler Newkirk (Atchison, Kan.) took 13th (53.67) in his collegiate debut. In the 55m Hurdle prelims, Gray was eighth with a time of 8.09 and Fiedler took 12th with a time of 8.57.
Belmont returns to action this weekend at the Indiana Relays, hosted by Indiana University-Bloomington.
