Men’s Track Finishes Third at Penn Challenge

Saturday, March 26

Philadelphia, PA

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Army West Point

Penn Challenge

Men’s Track Finishes Third at Penn Challenge

March 26, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Army West Point men's track and field team used four individual champions to finish in third at the Penn Challenge with 138 points on Saturday at Franklin Field.

"The meet went very well for us," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "Our top athletes won some events and we competed well. We scheduled this meet because it was a scored meet with just a few teams, and that allowed us to evaluate all of our athletes in advance of next week's dual meet with Navy."

The host Quakers won the meet with 191.5 points, while UConn finished second with 164.5 points. Army finished ahead of Rider, Villanova and Sacred Heart. The Broncs were fourth with 56 points, while the Wildcats finished fifth with 29 points and the Pioneers placing sixth with six points.

Three of the Black Knights' individual champions came in the sprints. The 4x100 relay team of Jose Santana, Ben Sims, Kevin Dyer and Tyler Davis ran the second-fastest time in program history at 40.94 to open the meet.

"We accomplished what we needed to and leave with some really good improvements," added Smith. "It's always a risky thing when you schedule a meet in the northeast in late March, but the weather was excellent."

Sims also sprinted his way to the 100m championship, besting the field of 20 with a time of 10.73. The Sierra Vista, Ariz., native, who holds Army's indoor record for the 60m dash, recorded the ninth-best 100m dash time in Academy history. He was also third in the long jump with a leap of 6.72m. Santana placed third in the 100m while Dyer finished fifth.

"Ben really stood out today," Smith commented. "He opened up his outdoor season right where he left off: in the winner's circle. We will be a significant contributor for us this spring."

Taylor Andrews continued the success in the 110m hurdles, capturing the title at 14.61. The senior co-captain was joined in the 110m hurdles top-five by Ross Puritty, who finished fourth with a time of 15.03, and Nick Beavers, who crossed the finish line fifth at 15.10.

Beavers also placed in the 400m hurdles, coming in third with a time of 54.94. Army's best finish in the event came from Marcus Phillips, who placed second after crossing the finish line at 54.13. Kevin Hall was the third Cadet to produce a top-10 finish in the event, coming in seventh.

Sophomore Lee Bares gave Army its fourth individual champion as he cleared the 5.20m bar in the pole vault. He was just one of two athletes to attempt the bar.
Dyer hustled his way to a third place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 22.23.

Army's 4x400m relay team of Phillips, Touchton, Spees and Santana earned eight points with a second place finish after crossing the finish line at 3:18.23.

Stevyn Spees and Davis scored points in the 400m dash for Army. Spees finished fifth with a time of 49.15 with Davis trailing directly behind him at 49.18.

Junior Trevor Touchton and sophomore Nick Causey produced a pair of top-five performances in the 800m run. Touchton finished second with a tiem fo 1:52.27, while Causey was fourth after crossing the finish line at 1:53.67.

In the field events, freshman Jeff Giannettino continues to impress as he was one of just two athletes to not only attempt the 2.10m bar, but eclipse the mark. That performance earned the West Burlington, Iowa native a runner-up finish, tying the fifth-best mark in program history.

The Black Knights had four finish in the top-10 in the javelin. Senior Branam Yow led that effort by placing third with a toss of 59.02m. Matthew Cushing followed in fourth with a mark of 58.06m. Michael Gabrielsen finished seventh at 56.41m, and Jack O'Brien was ninth, throwing the javelin 54.77m.

Army had a couple of scoring efforts in the throws as well as Dawson Hillis and Kenneth Brinson contributed to the team score in the discus. Hillis placed fourth with a toss of 49.14m while Brinson's throw reached 46.39m, good enough for a sixth-place finish. Brinson also finished fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 54.38m. Hillis placed second in the shot put, heaving the 35-pound ball 15.78m.

Army returns to the track next Saturday, April 2, as the Black Knights host the annual Star Meet against Navy at Shea Stadium.

For more information on Army West Point men's track and field, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.