Union Men’s Track Shines in Second-place Finish at Anderson Invitational

ANDERSON, Ind. - The Union Commonwealth University men's track and field team competed at the Anderson Invitational on Saturday, securing a second-place finish out of seven teams, totaling 133 points across 18 events.

The Bulldogs recorded multiple podium finishes and strong performances across all event groups.

Sprint Events

In the 60-meter dash, Collin Anderson claimed first place with a time of 7.09 after qualifying at 7.10 in the preliminaries. Camahni John finished fourth in 7.18, Xavier Owens placed sixth in 7.32, and Keith Hadley rounded out the finals in eighth with 7.42. Michael Albin (7.41), Kamese Higgins (7.48), William Sykes (7.57), Ethan Combs (7.69), and Jayvian Breckenridge (7.87) also competed in the prelims.

Hadley led Union in the 200 meters, placing fifth with a time of 24.13. John followed in sixth at 24.19, D'Mauri Owens finished eighth in 24.23, Higgins recorded 24.68, Anderson ran 24.86, and Albin posted 25.02.

In the 400 meters, Isaiah Spears placed fourth with a time of 54.31, while Preston Frost followed closely in fifth at 54.69. D'Mauri Owens finished seventh, recording 56.34.

Distance Events

Connor Messer earned a third-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.76, while Torrean Thornton placed fifth in 2:18.95. Zabrey Bortz added a second place performance in the 1,000 meters, clocking 2:45.00. Joshua Grubb competed in the mile, finishing in 5:30.50.

Jackson Crume highlighted the distance events by winning the 5,000 meters in 16:28.51, with Connor Partin following in third at 17:12.57.

Jumps and Hurdles

Valor Pennington placed third in the high jump after clearing 1.80 meters, while Tyler Sturgil finished fourth at 1.75 meters and T.J. Smith cleared 1.65 meters.

Nicholas Blann earned a second-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 6.41 meters, followed by Pennington in fourth at 5.98 meters. Sturgil and Smith added jumps of 5.38 and 5.37 meters.

Blann returned to take first place in the triple jump with a winning mark of 13.85 meters, while Michael Golden finished fourth at 9.92 meters.

In the pole vault, Pennington cleared 3.20 meters to place sixth, and Tim Freeman followed in seventh with 3.05 meters.

Throws

William Sykes led Union in the weight throw with a fifth-place mark of 13.68 meters. Keenan Uhles (10.30m), Isaac Doneghy (9.91m), and Jesus Calderon (7.80m) also competed.

In the shot put, Doneghy recorded 11.41 meters, Uhles followed with 10.34 meters, Pennington posted 10.05 meters, and Calderon finished with 9.76 meters.

Relays

Union captured first place in the 4x200-meter relay as the "A" team of Xavier Owens, Keith Hadley, Michael Albin, and Collin Anderson clocked 1:36.03.

The "B" squad of Ethan Combs, Kamese Higgins, Tyler Sturgil, and William Sykes placed third in 1:39.35.

For the full results, click here. 

Up Next:

Union returns to action Feb. 13–14 at the Centre Invite, hosted by Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.