LEXINGTON, Va. – Several VMI cadet-athletes earned postseason qualifying marks to highlight the second day of the 2020 Keydet Invitational.
 
Senior Jahanzib Shahbaz won the men's 3,000-meter race in 8:30.93, setting a Pakistani national record in the process by beating the former best time of 8:46.94.
 
After qualifying for the 60-meter finals yesterday, sophomore Jordin Poindexter placed fifth in the final with a time of 6.97 seconds. He competed in the 200 meter Saturday and earned an IC4A qualifying time of 22.10, good for fifth place in the competition. He finished third in his heat.
 
In the women's shot put, junior Sarah Leckman earned an ECAC qualifying distance of 13.80 meters (45'3-1/2") to place third in the field.
 
"I was again really pleased with how we competed," said VMI head coach Darrin Webb. "Shahbaz, Jordin, and Sarah Leckman stuck out for their top finishes.  But the team as whole did a great job. We did get banged up in a couple areas, especially in the long sprints. But none seem to be huge issue long term as long as we are smart and work to see improvement right away."
 
Griffin Kowal placed fourth in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.45 meters (14'7-1/4").
 
In the women's 200 meter, junior Ariana Ruffin came in fourth place in 25.41 seconds while Ingrid Joseph placed 15th (25.99) and freshman Marissa Linkous in 22nd (26.21).
 
The VMI men's 4x400 relay team of Jonathan Gray, Jahanzib Shahbaz, Quentin Bundy and Trent Whittaker placed fourth overall in 3:22.76.
 
Max Burke finished competition in the heptathlon with a fourth-place finish with 3,754 points between the seven events. On Saturday, he earned a height of 2.95 meters in the pole vault and ran the 1,000 meter in 3:13.72.
 
The Keydets return to action next Saturday with the VMI Team Challenge, a single-day event at the Corps Physical Training Facility.