Vermillion, S.D. – The Minnesota State men's outdoor track & field team had a fantastic open to its 2022-23 regular season at the USD Early Bird Invitational.
 
The Mavericks started the Invite with two fast finishes in steeplechase event. Junior Carter Owen claimed sixth place with a time of 9:54.50, not far behind was sophomore Adam Bohm at 9:57.62 and taking eighth place, both athletes recording personal bests.
 
Freshman Owen Petersohn showcased his ability in the 400m hurdles with a sixth-place finish (55.84).
 
Senior Ben Schmied found the podium for the 1500m run with a finish of 3:55.27, claiming fourth place in the event.
 
Coming in hot was the 4x100 relay team of junior Armondo Colome, sophomore Prince Nti, sophomore Steven Marks, and sophomore Ezekiel Clark. The team finished second with a time of 41.07, ranking them in the top 30 nationally and tying for 13th on the MSU all-time list in the 4x100 event.
 
The finals of the 400m dash featured three Mavericks, with junior Rashion Walker taking first (47.92), recording a personal best, landing 8th in the MSU all-time list, and ranking in the top 25 in the nation for the event. Joining him on the podium were freshman Qai Hussey claiming fifth (48.70) and senior Kenry Atubel finishing in seventh (49.23).
 
Five Mavericks found the podium in the 100 meters. Clark finished as the runner-up with a personal best time of 10.36. This time finds him tying for fifth on the MSU all-time top performances list and ranks him eighth in the nation. Claiming the fifth through eighth places in the 100m were Marks (10.44), ranking ninth on the MSU all-time list, junior Nicolas Sharma (10.45), Colome (10.45), both tying for 10th on the MSU all-time list, and Nti (10.47), ranking 12th on the MSU all-time list. All athletes rank within the top-25 nationally and all recorded personal bests.
 
The Maverick sprinters kept the pace in the 110m hurdles. Senior Abel Christiansen placed second with a time of 14.28. Christiansen's time ties him for eighth on the MSU all-time list and 17th nationally. Close behind was senior Ronald Pierre, running a personal best of 14.29 to place third, tying for ninth on the MSU all-time list and 18th nationally. Senior Justus Adams placed sixth (14.93) and Petersohn placed eighth (15.31).
 
In the 200m dash, three Mavericks found the podium and recorded personal bests in the event. Atubel finished fourth with a time of 21.38, ranking 26th in the nation. Walker ran a 21.53 to finish seventh, closely followed by Clark in eighth with a time of 21.58. Walker and Clark rank within the top 50 in the nation with their times.
 
The standout performances were not just limited to the running events. Junior James Gilbert placed first in the long jump with a personal record jump of 7.77m (25' 6"). Gilbert now ranks first in the nation and second on the MSU all-time list. Joining Gilbert on the podium for long jump was sophomore Slade Heald with a jump of 7.44m (24' 5") to place fourth. This jump is a personal best for Heald, as well as tying for eighth on the MSU all-time list and seventh in the nation. Freshman Camden Combs made his outdoor debut and finished eighth with a jump of 6.90m (22' 7 ¾").
 
In high jump, sophomore Aiden Buendorf tied for third in the event with a personal best jump of 2.04m (6' 8 ½") to rank 18th overall in the nation.
 
Junior Lorenzo Jones soared into first in the triple jump with a jump of 15.08m (49' 5 ¾"). This personal best jump lands Jones in sixth on the MSU all-time list and ties him for 10th nationally. Just inches behind was junior Onyekachi Ukaobasi, jumping 15.05m (49' 4 ½") to finish second. Ukaobasi is now eighth in the MSU all-time list and ranks 12th in the nation. Also finishing on the podium was freshman Anthony Borom in eighth, with a jump of 13.61m (44' 8").
 
In pole vault, junior Carsen Dittel placed second with a vault of 5.11m (16' 9 ½"), securing a spot in the MSU all-time list at fourth and tying for sixth in national rankings. Junior Alex Berg vaulted a personal best of 4.91m (16' 1 ½") to place fifth. Berg is now ranked 13th on the MSU all-time list and eighth in the nation. Tying for seventh in the event was sophomore Jedidah Hansen, with a personal best vault of 4.46m (14' 7 ¾").
 
Freshman Braxton Stewart competed in the decathlon, finishing eighth in the event with 5944 points. Stewart ranks 14th in the nation with this total.
 
The Mavericks look ahead to a full weekend between invitationals and relays in California, Iowa, and Nebraska April 13th-15th.