Men’s Track and Field Marvels at Crowell Open

Saturday, December 5

West Point, N.Y.

10 AM

Army West Point

Crowell Invitational

Men’s Track and Field Marvels at Crowell Open

December 05, 2015 | Men's Track and Field

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's track and field team had a strong showing at the season-opening Crowell Open at Gillis Field House on Saturday.

"I feel good about what happened today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "I saw great competitive efforts, and today isn't about individual performances. It's about getting back into competition and seeing where we are physically from our fall training. I was really pleased to see where some of our people are, especially our plebes, it gives me a good feeling about where we are headed."

Three Black Knights etched their names in to the program's record book while six personal records were set as well.

The season's first event was the long jump, in which the Black Knights held three of the top four spots in the field of 11. Freshman Ben Sims had a strong showing, leading the pack at 6.57 meters in his first collegiate event. Tyler Davis placed second after leaping 6.41 meters, and Robert Wettstein placed fourth with a distance of 6.02. Davis set a new personal best, breaking his previous mark of 6.16 meters that he set at last year's Crowell Invitational.

In the first distance event, a pair of freshmen took home the top-two spots as Garrett Plant and Mikey Singer made their track debuts in the mile run. Plant finished in 4:28.10 while Singer followed with a time of 4:32.29.

Army continued to hold multiple spots at the top of the events as Taylor Andrews win the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.37. He was trailed by Nick Beavers, who finished with a time of 8.48.

Sophomore Dawson Hillis not only took charge of the fiend, but topped his own distance from last season handily. His 15.56 meters was 1.76 meters better than the other 12 competitors and nearly two and a half meters better than his own previous best. Junior Garrett Kohnke, who placed third, also eclipsed his personal mark of 12.65 meters with a 13.02 meter toss.

Kohnke flipped the script in shot put as he set a personal record while taking first place. His 15.38 meters surpassed his previous longest shot of 15.29 meters at the 2014 Armory Invite. Hillis placed second with a distance of 14.99 meters, and first-time shot putter Tyler Davis took third with a distance of 12.31 meters.

Lee Bares set a personal-best in pole vault as he eclipsed his previous mark of 5.10 meters to win the event. His previous record was set at last season's dual meet versus Navy. His new record of 5.11 ranks second all-time in the program's history.

The Black Knights captured the two top spots in the high jump as freshman Jeff Giannettino was the only competitor to top two meters at 2.03. He was followed by Alex Olson, who finished second with a height of 1.96 meters. The triple jump did not fare as kindly for Army as freshman Patrick Bailey, who leaped a distance of 12.20 meters, finished third in the event.

In the 400 meter dash, sophomore Jose Santana, who was the only Cadet out of the 10 in the race to have competed collegiately, paced the field with a time of 49.50. He was followed by freshman Marcus Denham, who finished third with a time of 50.72, and Avery Walas, who finished fourth with a time of 50.98.

Santana captured the title in the 200 meter dash, completing the race in 22.49. Army also occupied the third through sixth-places.

Army continued its success into the 500 meter dash with Stevyn Spees crossing the finish line first after 1:06.30. The 60 meter dash yielded similar results as Sims captured his second title of the day, sporting a time of 6.89 that is good enough to place him tied for third in program history. He was followed by Davis, who set his second personal-record of the day with a time of 6.95. His previous best was 7.32 which he set at last year's Crowell Open, and he currently sits seventh on the all-time list.

In the 800 meter dash, the Black Knights held the top-four spots, led by Trevor Touchton who crossed the line at 1:53.24. He was followed by Jack Monday, who finished in 1:59.23, and freshmen Ben Boswell, who finished in 2:00.18, and Alex Combs, who crossed the finish line at 2:00.98.

The day ended with the relay races. In the 4x800, an Army team that had never competed in the event came out on top with a time of 8:30.53, thanks to Stevyn Spees who anchored the team. The Black Knights finished with a time of 8:30.53. Army occupied spots two through four in the 4x400.

The Black Knights will next compete at the Penn State Relays on Jan. 9, 2016 in State College, Pa.

For up-to-date information on Army men's track and field visit GoArmyWestPoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.