Black Knights Place Second at PL Championship

Friday, April 30

West Point, NY

All Day

Army West Point

Patriot League Championships

Black Knights Place Second at PL Championship

May 01, 2021 | Men's Track and Field

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's track and field team placed second in the Patriot League outdoor championships. The Black Knights posted 12 event wins and 26 top-three finishes. Army finished just four points behind first place Navy.

August Cook was named the men's field athlete of the meet and Mitchell Burr was named the men's rookie of the meet. Cook won the javelin with a meet record throw of 75.2m. The mark ranks fifth overall in the nation this season and tops Cook's previous program record by over two meters. Burr claimed a first-place finish in the 1500m with a time of 3:51.47.

Marshall Beatty was a double winner, claiming first in the 5000m and 10000m. Beatty shed 24.33 seconds off his personal best time in the 10000m on Friday with a time of 30:25.48. On Saturday he took first in the 5000m with a time of 14:19.03.

Army posted 1-2-3 finishes in both the shot put and the 800m. Geoff Kirk hit 18.53m in shot put. He was followed by Jamir Gibson (18.21m) and Kyle Patel (16.17m). In the 800m, Peter Smith placed first with a time of 1:50.51 and was followed by Luke Griner (1:51.41) and Michael Altenburg (1:52.19).

Gibson claimed first in discus with a throw of 57.48m, which was 3.6 meters further than second place. Marco Risi (60.33m) and Austin Herndon (58.05m) finished first and second in the hammer throw. Gibson placed fourth with a heave of 55.19m.

The Black Knights had two relay wins in the 4x100m and the 4x800m. Army's 4x100m relay team of Tarik Samuel, Kedrin Jefferson, Ryan Hogan and Jon Redmond took first in 40.69. The Black Knights' 4x800m relay of Caden Foster, Peter Smith, Michael Altenburg and Luke Griner placed first in 7:40.08 in Friday's final event.

Josh Heiman placed first with a mark of 7.36m in the long jump on Friday.

MEN'S EVENT WINNERS
200m: Kedrin Jefferson – 21.23
800m: Peter Smith – 1:50.51
1500m: Mitchell Burr – 3:51.47
5000m: Marshall Beatty – 14.19.03
10000m: Marshall Beatty – 30:25.48
4x100m Relay: Tarik Samuel, Kedrin Jefferson, Ryan Hogan, Jon Redmond – 40.69
4x800m Relay: Caden Foster, Peter Smith, Michael Altenburg, Luke Griner
Long Jump: Josh Heiman – 7.36m
Shot Put: Geoff Kirk – 18.53m
Discus: Jamir Gibson – 57.48m
Hammer Throw: Marco Risi – 60.33m
Javelin: August Cook – 75.20m

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
100m: Jon Redmond – 10.61, third
400m: Kevin Sembrat – 47.79, third
400m Hurdles: Calvin Wetzel – 53.12, second
800m: Luke Griner – 1:51.41, second
800m: Michael Altenburg – 1:52.19, third
1500m: Caden Foster – 3:51.71, second
4x400m Relay: Calvin Wetzel, Peter Smith, Luke Griner, Kevin Sembrat – 3:11.80, second
Pole Vault: Ethan Hesson – 4.93m, second
Long Jump: Kevin Kurth – 7.07m, third
Triple Jump: Tyrese Bender – 15.02m, second
Shot Put: Jamir Gibson – 18.21m, second
Shot Put: Kyle Patel – 16.17m, third
Hammer Throw: Austin Herndon – 58.05m, second
Decathlon: Matthew McNamara – 6778, third

HEAD COACH MIKE SMITH'S THOUGHTS
"We had a chance to win the meet today and that is really all you can ask. I don't think we really left any points out there. We competed as well as I could expect and scored more points than any team that I have ever coached, but in the end it was not enough. We maximized our opportunities in almost every event. In some events we were dominant. Of the 35 kids that we brought to the meet 34 of them scored points. It was a complete team effort and it was the closest we have come to winning the conference title since I have been here.

"There are 22 events at this meet and we won 12 of them. It was an extraordinary performance by our guys. We got to the 22nd event down only two points and we knew we had to win the 4x400 relay to just tie for the title, but we could not get the job done. It was a tough way to end it, but the effort that we showed and the way we competed yesterday and today was impressive.

"The highlights were numerous. Of the 12 event wins we had, seven came today. We went 1-2-3 in both the shot put and the 800. Geoff Kirk led us in the shot and Peter Smith controlled the 800 race wire to wire. Geoff has been one of our stars all year but for Peter this was a big step forward. He ran to his potential today and it was great to see his confident running result in a big win. The sweep in those two events really charged up our team. The other big sweep that we had was in the 1500. Mitchell Burr and Caden Foster are great training partners and they ran a very smart race today and ran a blistering 54 second last lap to win the race. There are other guys that can finish well in races, but our two guys have been unbeatable when it matters.

"Kedrin Jefferson had been struggling to get back to his fitness level and his win in the 200 was a great performance. He is the best ever at Army and he showed why today. The last win of the day for us was Marshall Beatty. He was the most dominant distance runner in the meet this weekend. He has not lost a track race this spring and he dominated the field again today by setting a blistering pace over the last mile. He is a real threat in any distance race that he runs.

"In the end, I told our team to have a short memory about this loss. There is a lot more that these men can accomplish and we need to move forward and get better."

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will compete in their Twilight Meet on Saturday, May 6.