Army West Point Athletics
Griner & Smith Give Men's Track & Field Strong Start to Weekend
April 15, 2023 | Men's Track and Field
PRINCETON, NJ - Army West Point men's track & field began the weekend with athletes competing at the Larry Ellis Invite hosted by Princeton University, with decathlon athletes starting the weekend at the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University.
Cam Smith led the Army throwers with a personal-best 67.22m hammer throw. Smith landed in sixth-place overall in the event. Chris Barrett led the Black Knights in the javelin throw with a 67.72m toss to claim third-place. Parker Brosious also tabbed a throw over 60 meters with a 60.71m mark which was good for seventh-place in the event.
Luke Griner secured a third-place finish in the 800m with a new personal best of 1:48.00. Kasen Jeitz also landed in the top-20 with a time of 1:52.18. In the 3000m steeplechase, Nathan Davis ran an 8:58.45 for a fifth-place finish in the event.
David Counts sits in third-place in the decathlon at the Bison Outdoor Classic heading into day two. His shot put throw of 12.13m was good for third-place while his 51.14s 400m was also a third-place mark. He posted a fourth-place finish in the 100m (11.33) and fifth-place finish in the long jump (6.35m).
FULL RESULTS
Coach's Corner
"At Princeton we had some career best performances from a few of our guys. Cameron Smith had the best series of his career in the hammer throw. He had three throws over his previous lifetime best and his 6th and final throw was his best (67.22m/220' 6"). He remains number 2 on the all-time academy list trailing only Gerald Ingalls' (69.96/229' 6") but clearly stands a good chance to challenge the Academy record in the coming weeks. Luke Griner had a lifetime best in the 800 meter race tonight finishing third in 1:48.00. That time moved him up to number 2 on the all-time academy list. He is closing in on the Cardell Williams' record of 1:47.64. The race went out quick and Luke got right onto the shoulder of the leader and then stayed clear of any trouble as he came into the final 200 meters. He made a strong move over the last 100 meters and pulled away from all but the leader of the race. He made up significant ground on the leader and got to within about 5 meters of him with 50 meters to go but could get no closer by the finish line. Luke has taken his training to a new level this spring and has a great competitive mindset. He will line up again in the 800 on Sunday at Bucknell and see if he can duplicate his performance from tonight. He has his sights set on competing at the highest level of our sport and I expect him to continue to improve as we head toward the championship season.Â
Chris Barrett had a great series in the javelin today at Princeton and finished 3rd overall. He has shown great consistency this spring and today was more of the same. He is positioned well to have a significant impact for our team at the Patriot League meet and at the NCAA regional meet in late May. At Bucknell, David Counts had the best day 1 of his life in the decathlon and currently sits 3rd going into day 2. Dave is a solid day 1 competitor and will do very well in the majority of the day 2 events so he has a great chance to score well overall tomorrow. His running has really taken off, his technical events are getting better and his throws are solid. He has some challenges in the hurdles which is the first event tomorrow morning but after that he will do quite well in the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters. He has made gains in every event in the decathlon so what we saw today and what we will likely see tomorrow is not unexpected." - Director of Track & Field Mike Smith
The Black Knights will return on Saturday with athletes competing at both meets.
Cam Smith led the Army throwers with a personal-best 67.22m hammer throw. Smith landed in sixth-place overall in the event. Chris Barrett led the Black Knights in the javelin throw with a 67.72m toss to claim third-place. Parker Brosious also tabbed a throw over 60 meters with a 60.71m mark which was good for seventh-place in the event.
Luke Griner secured a third-place finish in the 800m with a new personal best of 1:48.00. Kasen Jeitz also landed in the top-20 with a time of 1:52.18. In the 3000m steeplechase, Nathan Davis ran an 8:58.45 for a fifth-place finish in the event.
David Counts sits in third-place in the decathlon at the Bison Outdoor Classic heading into day two. His shot put throw of 12.13m was good for third-place while his 51.14s 400m was also a third-place mark. He posted a fourth-place finish in the 100m (11.33) and fifth-place finish in the long jump (6.35m).
FULL RESULTS
Coach's Corner
"At Princeton we had some career best performances from a few of our guys. Cameron Smith had the best series of his career in the hammer throw. He had three throws over his previous lifetime best and his 6th and final throw was his best (67.22m/220' 6"). He remains number 2 on the all-time academy list trailing only Gerald Ingalls' (69.96/229' 6") but clearly stands a good chance to challenge the Academy record in the coming weeks. Luke Griner had a lifetime best in the 800 meter race tonight finishing third in 1:48.00. That time moved him up to number 2 on the all-time academy list. He is closing in on the Cardell Williams' record of 1:47.64. The race went out quick and Luke got right onto the shoulder of the leader and then stayed clear of any trouble as he came into the final 200 meters. He made a strong move over the last 100 meters and pulled away from all but the leader of the race. He made up significant ground on the leader and got to within about 5 meters of him with 50 meters to go but could get no closer by the finish line. Luke has taken his training to a new level this spring and has a great competitive mindset. He will line up again in the 800 on Sunday at Bucknell and see if he can duplicate his performance from tonight. He has his sights set on competing at the highest level of our sport and I expect him to continue to improve as we head toward the championship season.Â
Chris Barrett had a great series in the javelin today at Princeton and finished 3rd overall. He has shown great consistency this spring and today was more of the same. He is positioned well to have a significant impact for our team at the Patriot League meet and at the NCAA regional meet in late May. At Bucknell, David Counts had the best day 1 of his life in the decathlon and currently sits 3rd going into day 2. Dave is a solid day 1 competitor and will do very well in the majority of the day 2 events so he has a great chance to score well overall tomorrow. His running has really taken off, his technical events are getting better and his throws are solid. He has some challenges in the hurdles which is the first event tomorrow morning but after that he will do quite well in the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters. He has made gains in every event in the decathlon so what we saw today and what we will likely see tomorrow is not unexpected." - Director of Track & Field Mike Smith
The Black Knights will return on Saturday with athletes competing at both meets.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
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