BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Four VMI Keydets scored in the shot put, led by champion Joel Hoisington, while the distance medley relay quartet placed second to lead VMI men's track and field on the opening day of the SoCon Championships Friday in Birmingham, Ala.
The Keydets sit third in the team standings after day one, with Western Carolina leading with 58 points. Samford is second with 38 markers, four points ahead of the Keydets. ETSU is fourth with 23 points and Furman is fifth with 20 markers. The Citadel, Wofford and UNCG wrap up the team standings.
Hoisington's winning throw in the shot was a 16.28 meter heave (53'5"), just ahead of Jordan White's 16.20 M/53'1 3/4" effort that was the runner-up position. Grant Sanchez (15.23 M/49'11 3/4") placed fifth and William Condrey (14.79 M/48'6 1/4") was seventh.
Another final Friday was the distance medley relay, where the Keydets finished second behind a time of 10:17.04. Kyle Sabourin, Tyriuq Trotman, Josh Willard and Sean Helmke crossed the line in the runner-up position.
Three Keydets qualified for the finals in both the 60 meters and the 200 meters. In the 200, it was Aron Long leading the way with a 21.99 second effort. Greg Henderson was second (22.08) and Pete Reed was seventh (22.58). In the 60, Henderson was fourth (6.91), Pete Reed was seventh (7.02) and Quan Myers earned the final qualifying spot, eighth, with a 7.05 effort.
A pair of Keydets also advanced in the 400-meters, the mile and the 60-meter hurdles. Lee Warren and Davon Guerrier moved on in the 60 hurdles, earning the #2 and #3 qualifying spots after ranking 1-2 in the conference for much of the season, and Andrew Gould and Deondre Anderson qualified in the 400-meter dash.
Avery Martin and Jay Broom, meanwhile, punched their tickets in the mile, timing in at 4:17.61 and 4:18.18 to earn their spots in Saturday's final. Martin also moved on in the 800, where he qualified fourth.
Finally, Daniel DeNijs was seventh in the 3K (8:38.23), while Brian Donna (2398/5th) and Levi Whitt (2308/7th) rank among the top seven in the heptathlon after day one.
VMI track and field will return to action Saturday, when the SoCon Championships resume at 9:15 a.m.
