Track and Field Has Strong Start To Spring Season At Ben Brown Invite

Friday, March 11

Fullerton, CA

Army West Point

Ben Brown Invite

Track and Field Has Strong Start To Spring Season At Ben Brown Invite

March 13, 2022 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

MEET 1
MEET	Ben Brown Invite
RESULTS	NTS
LOCATION	Titan Track Complex

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Army Black Knights opened their spring season with competitive finishes at the Ben Brown Invitational on March 11-12 hosted by Cal State Fullerton.

MEET SUMMARY
The Army men claimed six events while ranking in the top half of most events. Luke Griner captured the 800m (1:50.19) while also finishing third in the 400m and second as part of the 4x400 relay team. Caden Foster and Mitchell Burr shared the 1500m event (3:50.35); Foster also placed third in the 800m. Justin Young won the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.00. The 4x100 relay team of Tarik Samuel, Ryan Hogan, Jon Redmond, and Young finished first with a time of 40.52. Jamir Gibson, fresh off a dominating indoor season, won the shot put (17.99m).

The Army women won five events with Anna Tovkach involved in three of them. She won the 400m and 800m while finishing first in the 4x400 relay with Ever Elegon, Holli Chapman, and Shayla Bonzelet. The 4x100 relay team – Emma Taylor, Hannah Blakey, Kersten Douglas, and Jazmine Alderman – also won their race (47.44). Nataleigh Cantu won the high jump (1.70m) with teammates Isabella Palchak, and Grace Reinhardt finishing tied for second. Other notable performers were Georgia Jones placing third in the 1500m (4:33.06) and 5000m (16:30.56), Hannah Blakey placing second in the 400 hurdles (1:02.20), Clara Sabo placing second in the pole vault (3.67), and Emily Fink's second-place finish in the shot put (15.39m).

EVENT WINNERS
Men
800m – Luke Griner (1:50.19)
1500m – Caden Foster, Mitchell Burr (3:50.35)
110 hurdles – Justin Young (14:00)
4x100 relay – Tarik Samuel, Justin Young, Ryan Hogan, Jon Redmond (40.52)
Shot put – Jamir Gibson (17.99m)

Women
400m – Anna Tovkach (55.34)
800m – Anna Tovkach (2:07.25)
4x100 relay – Emma Taylor, Hannah Blakey, Kersten Douglas, Jazmine Alderman (47.44)
4x400 relay – Anna Tovkach, Ever Elegon, Holli Chapman, Shayla Bonzelet (3:47.70)
High Jump – Nataleigh Cantu (1.7m)

COACH'S CORNER
Opening Comments
"The weather is the reason we came to Los Angeles and we were not disappointed this week. The Ben Brown meet is hosted by Cal State Fullerton and it was 70-75 degrees and sunny every day at practice yesterday and today were probably the best weather days of the entire week. We competed in most of the distance events last night and several field events during the day and today was largely a day for the sprints, hurdles, relays, and remaining field events. Normally it is a challenge to get some good marks at an early-season meet but we were pretty good out here this weekend." - Mike Smith

Men
"Our men's 4x100 was an easy winner and the 40.52 that we ran is fifth all-time on the Army top 10 list. Justin Young won the high hurdles and ran a very good 14.00 which is the fastest time he has run since 2019. Caden Foster and Mitchell Burr tied for the win in the 1500. They did not try to tie in that race. They both were kicking hard to the finish and I think they just actually tied with their lean at the line. Luke Griner won the 800 convincingly and Jamir Gibson had a strong final throw in the shot to secure the win. In the overall scheme of things, I felt like we got a lot of work done out here this week and we certainly competed very well here at Fullerton this weekend. It was a very productive training period and we are in a good spot to build on our fitness as we move forward into the championship part of our outdoor season."

Women
"We won five events this weekend and Anna Tovkach had a part in 3 of those wins. Anna won the 800 on Friday night and then followed that up with a win in the 400 on Saturday and she ran a strong leg on the 4x400 relay that won to close out the meet. Nataleigh Cantu leaped into the top-5 all-time at Army with her 5' 7" win in the high jump. Our other win came in the 4x100 and that team did a nice job of getting the stick around given the limited practice time that we have had. The majority of the teams at this meet were West Coast teams that have had unlimited good weather practice so I was impressed with how we compared to them across all of the events this weekend. UCLA brought a large contingent to the meet and we went 1,2 on them in the hammer after going 1,2 on USC last weekend. We also won over UCLA in the women's vault, the 1500, the 800, and the shot. While this was not a dual with UCLA, it was a good test for our people to measure themselves against the programs that typically represent the top levels of the NCAA. We still have some things to work on but by and large, our people did a great job out here and we made some nice progress."

UP NEXT
The Black Knights return home to host the West Point Spring Open on Friday, March 18.

For complete coverage of Army West Point cross country and track and field, follow the Black Knights on Twitter (ArmyWP_TrackXC) and Instagram (goarmytrack) and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.