NEWS

 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Davidson track and field team opened the 2022 indoor season by capturing four individual first-place finishes and breaking two school records at the JDL Early Bird Invitational on Sunday. The Wildcats were led by Jordan Benson, Liz Simms, Kelsey Troutman, and Breila Fuller who all took top finishes in the team’s first meet of the 2022-23 season.

Benson, a senior from Mason, Mich., blazed through the prelims of the men’s 60-meters with a qualifying time of 8.09. He then followed that with a program-record time of 7.94 in the finals, breaking a mark Jayden Smith set last season.

On the women’s side, three seniors came away with first-place finishes. In the 600-meters, Davidson swept the event claiming the top-three spots, led by Liz Simms. Simms, a senior from Butler, Pa., crossed the line first with a time of 1:39.49. Teammates Maliyah Paynter and Isabella Darce finished close behind with times of 1:41.17 and 1:41.59, respectively.

In the women’s 800-meters, Kelsey Troutman walked away victorious with a final time of 2:17.8, which was nearly four seconds faster than the next place runner.

Davidson’s final top individual finisher was Breila Fuller who won the women’s 1000-meters. Fuller ran a time of 2:57.86 to edge UNCG’s Chandler McCaslin by less than a second for her second career indoor first-place finish.

On top of the top individual finishes, Davidson’s men’s 4×400 relay team cruised to the fastest time at Sunday’s meet with a combined mark of 3:28.28. Upperclassmen Bryce Anthony and Miles Kominsky paired with newcomers Ryan Harris and Lukas Valley to win the event by three whole seconds.

More Noteworthy Performances

In the men’s 60-meter prelims, junior Josh Hardin broke the school record with a time of 6.91. This snapped Miles Hollimons’ mark of 6.96 set back in 2020.  

Davidson also had numerous athletes finish within the top-five of their respective event.

On the men’s side, Miles Kominsky took second place in the 600-meters, and Ryan Harris crossed in second during the 1000-meter race. Bryce Anthony finished third in the 60-meter hurdles, while Owen Lekki took third in the one mile run with a time of 4:21.08.

For the women, Rachel Horowitz and Kierra Marshall finished third and fourth in the 200-meters. Alexandra Cisneros snagged fourth in the 1000, and Megan Burkholder was the fourth-best finisher in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 3.50 meters.

Davidson track and field will return to action next on January 21 at the Carolina Challenge hosted by South Carolina.