Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Virginia Tech Invitational
Griner Highlights Men's Track & Field at Virginia Tech Invitational
January 15, 2023 | Men's Track and Field
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Army West Point women's track and field competed on the road for the first time this indoor season at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Luke Griner highlighted the weekend for the Black Knights, claiming first in the 500m and posting a second-place finish in the 400m.
The Black Knights competed amongst a stacked field comprised of Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Virginia, Charlotte, Liberty, VCU, Richmond and High Point.
Luke Griner began the weekend with a win in the 500m, pacing the field with a time of 1:02.98. Returning on Saturday for the 400m, Griner collected a second-place finish with a 48.13s run. Army had strong showing multiple running events, as Garrett Gough continued his strong form from the cross-country season with a third-place finish (8:13.39) in the 3000m. Brian Matthews (22.56) placed fourth in the 200m and Cadem Smith (1:57.24) tabbed fourth in the 800m while Mitchell Burr landed in the top-five, placing fifth in the 1000m (2:24.47).
Cameron Smith highlighted the field events for the Black Knights, boasting an 18.83m weight throw to place second in the event. Talon Estes (2.05m) paced Army in the high jump to earn a seventh-place finish, as Ethan Hull & Ethan Hesson tied for seventh, each posting 4.90m on the pole vault.
Army Top Finishers
200m: Brian Matthews (22.56) - 4th
400m: Luke Griner (48.13) - 2nd
800m: Caden Smith (1:57.24) - 4th
One-mile: Nathan Davis (4:18.51) - 16th
3000m: Garrett Gough (8:13.39) - 3rd
60m Hurdles: Austin Hernandez (8.26) - 8th
High Jump: Talon Estes (2.05m) - 7th
Pole Vault: Ethan Hull & Ethan Hesson (4.90m) - 7th
Shot Put: Robbie Manse (15.17m) - 7th
Weight Throw: Cam Smith (18.83m) - 2nd
1000m: Mitchell Burr (2:24.47) - 5th
300m: Elijah Bellamy (35.01) - 14th
500m: Luke Griner (1:02.98) - 1st
Pole Vault Unseeded: Brian McSweeney (4.80m) - 3rd
For a full list of results click HERE.
Coach's Corner
"Virginia Tech has a great facility for track and field competition. There is a separate throws building attached to the indoor track complex, there are elevated runways for the horizontal jumps and pole vault and the oval is a banked 200m. We came to this meet to put our team into a competitive environment and to compete over two days. The meet did not disappoint. We didn't win very many events but given the level of competition, that was not entirely unexpected. We did rise to the level of the competition and that resulted in some good performances. There were a number of highlights over the two days. Yesterday the guys in the 1000m ran a nice race. The pace was strong early and both Jeremiah amd Mitchell stayed right with it. Then, when the kicking started they hung in there right to the finish line. Mitchell's time of 2:24 now ranks #5 on our all time list. I was also impressed with the pole vault guys today and yesterday. They all had season best performances and Brian McSweeney had a lifetime best. More Importantly, they looked confident and they executed. The top men's performer from the weekend was undoubtedly Luke Griner. This meet was his first of the season so you would expect him to show some rust but that was not the case. He won the 500-meter race yesterday with the number 3 all-time performance in Army history at 1:02.98. It was a dominating performance. Then he came back today with a personal best in the 400 at 48.13 that ranks #5 on the all-time list. In his final event of the weekend he anchored our 4x400 that finished third. It was an outstanding weekend for him. He had been a good middle distance runner since his plebe year but he is now poised to take it to another level and I am looking forward to watching him do that this winter. On the whole we got a lot done this weekend and I like the composition of this group of men. They are committed to getting better and I think that will show each weekend." - Director of Track & Field Mike Smith.
Up Next
Army will send athletes to the Eagle Invitation on Friday, Jan. 20 hosted by Boston College.
Players Mentioned
