Men’s Track Third Heading into Final Day of PLC

Saturday, February 20

Boston, MASS.

All Day

Army West Point

Patriot League Championships

Men’s Track Third Heading into Final Day of PLC

February 20, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

BOSTON, Mass. – The Army West Point women's track and field team is positioned third heading into the final day of the Patriot League Indoor Championships from Boston University's Track and Tennis Center on Saturday.

"I was impressed with a lot of our athletes today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "Championship meets are about execution. Every team comes ready to preform, so each individual has to take care of their job in their events. Today was mostly a qualifying day on the track, and we did a really good job of advancing to tomorrow. Now, if we can equal or better our qualifying positions in the finals tomorrow, we have a chance to finish in the top-three."

Sophomore Tyler Davis finished the heptathlon from yesterday with a fifth-place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 3.55 meters, sixth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:55.51 and seventh in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.52. He finished the event with 4,653 points, enough for a second-place finish and the fifth-best mark in program history.

Freshman Ben Sims sprinted his way into the history books by setting both the Academy and meet record in the 60-meter dash preliminary heat. His time of 6.75 broke the previous record, held by teammate Jose Santana at 6.77 which he set in 2014.

Additionally, Kevin Dyer placed third and qualified for the finals, posting the fifth-best time in program history at 6.88. He also advanced in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.84 in the prelims.
"Ben Sims is a real talent and rises to the level of the competition," mentioned Smith. "After the long jump did not go as well as he had hoped, he refocused and ripped off a new Academy record in the 60m qualifying. The fact that he is a plebe makes his work today that much more impressive."

The Black Knights achieved a lot of success in the field events on the day, earning a total of 22 team points in the weight throw, high jump and long jump. Freshman Kenneth Brinson took home a second-place finish in the weight throw at 18.49 meters and eight team points with his ECAC/IC4A qualifying mark.

The best event of the day for the Cadets was the high jump, where Alex Olson and Jeff Giannettino earned 11 points for Army with third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Both of them cleared the bar at 2.04 meters with Olson needing one less attempt. It also tied both of their career bests which were set at Navy on Feb. 6.

In the long jump, freshman Ben Sims placed seventh with a leap of 6.82 meters, while Davis followed closely behind in eighth at 6.78 meters. Edgar Poe also competed in the event, placing 15th with a career-best 6.42 meters.

Three Black Knights qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles. Senior co-captain Taylor Andrews led the way with a fifth-place performance with a time of 8.30. He was followed by Nick Beavers in sixth, who was fractions of a second slower with the same time recorded, and Ross Puritty in seventh crossing the finish line after 8.43 seconds.

In the lone distance event of the day, Brown Bailey and Drew Beck competed in the 5000-meter run. Bailey placed 12th with a time of 14:57.78 while Beck followed shortly thereafter in 13th, crossing the finish line at 14:59.75.

The 4x800-meter relays concluded the day's events with Army placing second. Alex Combs, Ben Boswell, Jack Monday and Nick Causey compiled a time of 7:31.65, the third-best in program history.

The third and final day of the Patriot League Indoor Championships will begin at noon and will include the mile run, 60-meter hurdles finals, 60-meter dash finals, 200-meter dash finals, 400-meter dash, 500-meter dash, 800-meter run, 1000-meter run, 3000-meter run, distance medley relay, 4x400-meter relay, triple jump, shot put and pole vault.

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