Track and Field Completes Day One of Virginia Tech Invitational

Track and Field Completes Day One of Virginia Tech Invitational

January 12, 2024 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Army West Point track and field team competed in day one of the Virginia Tech Invitational on Friday at Rector Field House.

Joanna Halfhill kicked off the day with a strong showing in the women's mile, placing second with a time of 4:59.20. Mikayla Cheney came in right behind her with a time of 4:59.51. Charlotte Richman placed third in the 3000m.

Kayley Ragazzini placed fourth in the weight throw with a throw of 19.17m.

On the men's side Nathan Davis won the 3000m with a time of 8:20.03. Cam Smith placed third in the weight throw with an 18.86m throw. Mitchell Burr had a fourth place finish in the 1000m, running a 2:26.30. Trey McGinnis placed fifth in the 300m with a time of 34.95.

The Black Knights took home first, second, and fourth in the 500m. Luke Griner broke the academy record with a time of 1:02.23 to win the race. Kasen Jeitz placed second at 1:02.99 and Ryan McDonagh checked in at fourth place at 1:05.76.

Tomorrow the Black Knights will be back in action for the final day of the Virginia Tech Invitational.

COACHES CORNER

Men
We came down here because this is a two day meet and we wanted to put ours guys into some really competitive situations. We were challenged in every event. Our response to those challenges was pretty good. There were some areas where I felt like we showed some hesitation, and we looked like we were rusty but on the whole we did a nice job of competing. In the field events we had two guys (Carlos posey and Caleb smith) make the final of the long jump. They were consistent on the runway and that usually leads to good results on the board. I was happy with how they competed. Cameron Smith is coming along nicely in the weight throw. Today was better than last week and I would expect that he will just keep going forward. The highlight of the day on the track was the men's 500. Luke Griner and Kasen Jeitz had a 1-2 finish and the times that they ran were very good. Kasen's 1:02.99 is a significant personal best and is now number 4 all-time on Army West Point top 10 list. And Luke Griner's winning time of 1:02.23 is a new school record and a world leading time in the 500 meter race. Both of those guys have been training at a very high level and what we saw today was a reflection of their consistent hard work. Most of our guys will be competing again tomorrow and I think we will have more strong performances.

Women
I like having a two day meet early in the season so that we can get more competitive opportunities for our team. We have competed a skeleton squad at the first couple of meets but today we opened up a lot more of our roster. The result was that we had quite a few bright spots today. Emma Taylor got her season started today in the 60 meters and had a lifetime best of 7.65. She has looked great all fall and obviously did some strong work in maintaining her fitness over the winter break. Her hard work is paying off and I think she will keep getting better. The women's mile was our best competitive result on the day. our 2-3 finish in that mile (Joanna Halfhill, Mikayla Cheney) was a nice outcome for those two. They were at the front of the race for almost all of the 8 laps. Although they didn't win the race, they looked strong and composed the entire race and I think they both will run pretty fast by the time we get to the championship meets. We have a lot more to look forward to tomorrow.