Men’s Track Shows Depth at Virginia Tech

Friday, January 15

Blacksburg, VA.

5 PM

Army West Point

Virginia Tech Invitational

Men’s Track Shows Depth at Virginia Tech

January 15, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

Blacksburg, Va. – The Army West Point men's track and field team concluded its first day of competition at the Virginia Tech Invitational from Rector Field House on Friday.

"We scheduled this meet so that we could measure ourselves against some of the top track and field programs in our region," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina and Virginia Tech are all very strong programs and are particularly good in the speed and power events. Our athletes are wired to rise to the level of our competition and have done a nice job of that so far."

The Black Knights placed three in the top-five out of the ten events and nine in the top-10. Leading the way was freshman Kenneth Brinson with a third-place finish in the weight throw. The Kennesaw, Ga., native tossed the 35-pound weight 18.30 meters. He was joined in the top-five by Trevor Touchton, who placed fourth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:28.81, and Jose Santana, who completed the 300-meter dash in 35.01, good enough for fifth place.

"Kenneth has very high expectations," added Smith. "He expects to win, and that's one of the things I like most about him. His competitive fire will propel him higher in the coming weeks as his technique catches up to his fitness."

Touchton led the way in Army's strongest event as three Cadets placed in the top-10 in the 1000-meter run. Freshman Ben Boswell placed ninth after crossing the finish line at 2:32.61, followed directly by Jack Monday who finished with a time of 2:33.29.

The other Black Knights that placed in the top ten were Stevyn Spees, Tyler Davis, Ross Puritty and Avery Walas. Spees placed sixth in the 500-meter dash, completing the race in 1:04.44. Davis qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash with a 6.94 and placed seventh after improving by his preliminary time by .02 seconds. Puritty qualified for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.42 and finished eighth in the finals after running 8.50. Walas placed 10^th in the 300-meter dash, crossing the finish line at 36.24.

The second and final day of the Virginia Tech Invitational will begin tomorrow at 11 a.m.

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