The Lee University men’s track & field team opened its 2023 indoor season on Saturday at the UAB Vulcan Invitational. The Flames left the Birmingham CrossPlex with two Lee records and four NCAA Division II provisional marks.
Cale Kassen won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.80 seconds to break Jeremiah McCain’s standard of 8.14. Kassen’s time also met the provisional qualifying mark and is currently the top time recorded in NCAA Division II. Cameron Stine finished 12th with a time of 9.22.
Kassen and Stine finished in the top four of the high jump with Kassen clearing 2.00 meters and Stine making it over 1.90 meters for second and fourth, respectively.
Eli Brooks set a Lee record on his way to a first-place finish in the pole vault. Brooks cleared 4.75 meters to eclipse Daniel Surman’s previous record of 4.70 meters. Riley Margene placed seventh with a successful jump of 4.05 meters, while Randall Kramer was eighth with a height of 3.75 meters.
Donoven Jackson finished second with a provisional time of 6.86 seconds in the 60-meter dash. In the event preliminaries, he stopped the clock at 6.93, while Kassen was ninth in the preliminary round with a time of 7.03.
Justin Steele added another provisional mark in the 200-meter dash. He placed second with a qualifying time of 21.47, while Niquaine Henry finished ninth (22.51). Steele and Henry were joined by Nokia Masengu in the 400 where Steele won the race at 48.67. Henry was 10th (50.92) with Masengu right behind in 11th (50.98).
Will Stone was the first of seven Lee runners to cross the finish line of the 3000-meter run. He placed third with the seventh-best provisional time of 8:12.24. Aaron Himes was fourth (8:19.88) and Matthew Fowler was sixth (8:20.79). Ezekiel Harless (8:27.52) was eighth, Adan Rodriguez finished ninth (8:28.69), Stephen Clark (8:50.20) placed 13th and Caleb Guthery recorded a time of 8:55.76 for 14th.
Jacob Hatcher and Roberto Fajardo claimed first and second in a pair of events. Hatcher was first (1:55.15) in the 800-meter run and second in the mile (4:14.43). Fajardo was second in the 800 (1:55.44) and first in the mile (4:13.13). Ryan Lovelace and Evan Moore completed Lee’s representation in the mile. Lovelace was seventh (4:21.16) and Moore placed eighth (4:22.50).
Myles Mann covered 12.41 meters to place seventh in the triple jump. He added a ninth-place finish with a long jump of 6.13 meters.
Matthew Black’s weight throw of 17.23 meters was good for second in the event. Braxton Philpott was 10th with a throw of 12.52 meters. Camden joined Black and Philpott in the shot put. Williams was 10th with a mark of 13.82 meters. Black recorded a throw of 12.45 meters (13th) and Philpott was 19th with a toss of 10.49 meters.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Henry, Kassen, Masengu and Steele posted a second-place time of 3:19.92.
The Flames are scheduled for two meets this coming weekend with some of the team returning to the CrossPlex for the Samford University Open on Friday, while the rest will travel to Nashville for the Vanderbilt University Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
The Lady Flames exited the Birmingham CrossPlex with two Lee records and an NCAA Division II provisional mark.
Carissa Hall broke Liezl Theron’s long jump mark of 5.41 meters with a first-place finish of 5.61 meters. Jydia Faucette placed third with a leap of 5.22 meters. Hall added a seventh-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.38 seconds.
Brynn Depinet was second in the pole vault after clearing 3.50 meters. The mark broke the record of 3.25 meters that had been held by Kendra Irvine for almost three years.
Three Lady Flames took on the weight throw with Deborah Rubin finishing second with a provisional mark of 17.10 meters. Symphony Buxton was third with a throw of 16.73 meters and Samara Brinks placed 21st at 10.64 meters. The trio also competed in the shot put. Rubin was sixth (11.91 meters), Buxton was 10th (11.31 meters) and Brinks finished 20th (9.83 meters).
Lee placed four runners in the top six of the mile run. Megan Adams was the winner at 4:59.00 with Lily Hare in second (4:59.97). Liza Kellerman (5:03.27) and Aria Hawkins (5:06.35) were fourth and sixth, respectively. Hawkins won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.83. Hare was sixth (2:18.92), Adams eighth (2:19.36) and Kellerman 11th (2:20.32).
Julia Halterman, Olivia McLain and Katie Krueger were Lee’s representatives in the 3000-meter run. Halterman completed the circuit at 10:12.25 to finish second. McLain’s time of 10:19.40 put her in fourth, while Krueger was eighth (10:30.61).
Liezl Theron cleared 1.60 meters to win the high jump. Sydney White finished fourth with a jump of 1.50 meters. Theron and White also competed in the 60-meter hurdles. Theron placed 14th (9.62) and White was 19th (10.21).
Kristen Blevins was Lee’s top performer in the 60-meter dash after stopping the clock at 7.77 seconds in the semifinal. Baylie Murphy was 10th 7.89) in the preliminary round and 21st (7.95) in the semifinal. Jaila Whitaker posted a time of 8.03 (17th) in the prelims.
Eve Hine led three Lee runners to the finish line of the 400-meter dash. Hine crossed the line at 57.71 to claim fifth place. Janay Ryan was ninth (59.02) and Kaia Martz was right behind in 10th (59.36).
The 4x400-meter relay team of Faucette, Ryan, Martz and White posted a sixth-place finish with a combined time of 3:58.47.
The Lady Flames are scheduled for two meets this coming weekend with some of the team returning to the CrossPlex for the Samford University Open on Friday, while the rest will travel to Nashville for the Vanderbilt University Invitational on Friday and Saturday.