CLEVELAND, TN – The Tigers were split up into two groups over the weekend with one group at the Lee University Invitational and the other at the Pioneer Invitational in Lexington, KY.
Martin Batel was the feature for Campbellsville at the Lee University Invitational. Batel hit an NAIA B Standard and punched his ticket to the NAIA National Championship in the 3,000m steeplechase. Batel won the event in a time of 9:24.35 and is currently ranked 1st in the NAIA. Teammate
Lukas Smithson earned the bronze medal in the event in a personal best time of 9:35.65.
Schavon Carr was the runner-up in the 110m hurdles with a (0.2) wind in a time of 14.56.
Dominic Malel ran under the 15-minute barrier in his outdoor 5,000m debut, placing 7th overall at 14:55.40.
Zachary Phelps and Matthias Brice were the final key finishers of the weekend at Lee University. Phelps placed 4th in the 400m in a new school record and personal best time of 48.44, while Brice was .54 seconds behind in 6th at 49.98.
In Lexington, 21 points came out of the 100m early in the meet.
Devin Girtman won the event in 11.15 (1.4 wind),
Isaiah Johnson was the runner-up in 11.23 (1.4 wind), and
Chris Thomas rounded out the scoring for the trio in 4th place at 11.34 (1.4 wind). Thomas turned the tables in the 200m and came away with a victory of his own. Thomas beat out Thomas More's Gregory Woodard by .02 with a winning time of 22.57. Johnson placed 5th in the 200m at 23.10.
Isiah Bain and
William Riley brought in 15 points from the 400m. Bain won the event in 52.37, and Riley was 4th in 56.18. In the 800m,
Dakota Brady made his outdoor debut for the season, placing 4th overall in 2:04.11, while
Dustin Ralph was 6th in 2:11.55. Brady won his first event of the season in the 1500m with a winning time of 4:10.26. Ralph,
Luke Burton, and
Zachary Lynch scored the final points in the 1500m. Ralph earned 6th place in 4:25.75, Burton was close behind in 7th in 4:26.99, and Lynch earned the final point, placing 8th in 4:28.48.
Three Tigers scored in the 5,000m, with
Aaron Smith and Sam Bennett leading the way. Smith and Bennett were separated by .35 seconds, with Smith placing 5th at 15:55.21 and Bennett placing 6th at 15:55.56.
Samuel Larson finished in 8th to get the final point of the event in 16:25.82.
Riley and
Zahnte' Brown teamed up in the 110m hurdles for nine points. Riley led the way in 4th place at 18.94, and Brown was 5th in 21.24. Girtman, Bain, Johnson, and Thomas won the 4x100m relay over Thomas More in 42.99. Distance athletes Brady, Ralph, Burton, and Lynch ran in the 4x400m relay, earning 4th place in the finals in 3:49.00.
In the field events,
Raylon Wilson was the runner-up in the high jump with a height of 1.85m, which he cleared on his first attempt. Wilson also placed 4th in the long jump on a (0.0 wind) with a mark of 6.25m on his first jump of the day.
Jonah Oliver came close to the victory in the shot put on Saturday. Oliver was .25m off, winning the event with second place and a personal best mark of 13.33m. Oliver kept his podium day alive in the discus throw with a bronze medal finish of 40.44m. He closed out his day in the hammer throw, placing 3rd overall at 42.65m.
Campbellsville will return to the track March 28-29. On March 28th, they will be at the Blue Raider Invitational at Lindsey Wilson College, and on both the 28th and 29th, they will have a separate team travel to the UAB Spring Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama.
