Men’s Track Races to Spring Break Invite Runner Up

Friday, March 18

Irvine, CA

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Army West Point

Spring Break Invitational

Men’s Track Races to Spring Break Invite Runner Up

March 19, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

IRVINE, Calif. – The Army West Point men's track and field team placed second among the five-team field at the annual UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

"I thought our team did a nice job of competing today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "We worked hard all week, had perfect weather and made some nice progress in a lot of areas."

Trevor Touchton won one of the Black Knights' two individual titles in one of the team's deepest events in the 800m run, crossing the finish line at 1:51.45. Mitch Dutton joined Touchton in the top-five in fourth, while Jack Monday placed seventh and Alex Combs finished eighth.

Army's event with four top-ten finishes came in the javelin, in which the Cadets held second through fifth place spots. Branam Yow was the runner up with a toss of 58.54m, while Matthew Cushing's throw of 56.57m was good enough for third place. Jack O'Brien placed fourth while Michael Gabrielsen wrapped up the top-five.

Freshman Jeff Giannettino earned Army's second individual championship in the high jump, clearing the 2.05m bar.

Discus yielded a pair of top-five finishes for Army as Dawson Hillis placed third with a toss of 49.82m, while freshman Kenneth Brinson recorded a mark of 49.43m which was good enough for fifth place. Brinson also finished third in the hammer throw, reaching 55.58m.

Team co-captains Taylor Andrews and Tom Girardot both recorded third-place finishes in their respective events. Andrews recorded a time of 14.63 in the 110m hurdles while Girardot crossed the finish line at 9:21.76 in the 3000m steeplechase. Junior Jose Santana joined them by finishing third in the 100m dash at 10.84.

Ryan Smathers and Kevin Dyer recorded fourth-place finishes in the 1500m and 200m, respectively. Smathers completed the distance event in 3:55.98, while Dyer sprinted to the line in 21.91 seconds.

The Black Knights return to the track next Saturday, March 26, with a dual meet at the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information on Army West Point men's track and field, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_MTrackXC on Twitter.