Mankato, Minn. – The #11 Minnesota State men's track and field team finished its first home meet of the season with a multitude of top eight finishes and personal bests.
 
Setting the pace for the day was junior James Gilbert, claiming first place in the long jump with a new personal best jump of 7.88 m (25' 10.25"). Gilbert ranks first in the nation and extends his lead at second on the MSU all-time top performances list. Just short of Gilbert was sophomore Slade Heald with a jump of 7.65 m (25' 1.25") to place second. This personal best slates Heald at fourth on the MSU all-time list and sixth in the nation. Juniors Naishaun Jernigan and Takudzwa Mangwiro jumped 6.88 m (22' 7") and 6.80 m (22' 3.75") respectively to place fifth and sixth. Finishing out the Maverick-heavy event was senior Reece Shannon, placing seventh with a jump of 6.71 m (22' 0.25").
 
An impressive 4x100m relay team composed of sophomore Armondo Colome, junior Prince Nti, junior Nicolas Sharma, and sophomore Ezekiel Clark finished in first with a time of 40.27. The team ranks 13th in the nation and third on the MSU all-time list.
 
Freshman Braxton Stewart was the lone placer for the Mavericks in the javelin throw, finishing in third with a personal best throw of 45.13 m (148').
 
Junior Carter Owen also took third in the 3000m steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:46.24.
 
In the 400m dash, sophomore Kyler Bade ran a personal record time of 48.29 to finish third. Right behind was sophomore Marvin Dure, with a time of 48.4 to place fourth. A personal best time of 48.89 gave freshman Thomas Rosengren the fifth-place spot.
 
Clark claimed another first-place finish in the 100m dash, with a personal best time of 10.47. This ties him for 43rd in the nation and eighth on the MSU all-time list. Sophomore Steven Marks finished in second with a personal best time of 10.55 to tie the MSU all-time at 14th. Placing third was freshman Trey Vaval, running a personal best of 10.72. Another freshman finding the podium was Brock Unger, with a personal best time of 10.93 to finish out the 100m dash.
 
Unger also finished in fourth place in the 200m dash, with another personal best time of 22.23. Not far behind was sophomore Kevin Andres, finishing in seventh with a personal best time as well, at 22.82.
 
In the 110m hurdles, senior Abel Christiansen took second place with a personal best time of 14.12, currently ranking 19th in the nation and fourth on the MSU all-time list. Junior Renald Pierre was right behind, finishing in third with a personal best time of 14.22. Pierre ties for 25th in the nation and holds the sixth spot on the MSU all-time list. Finishing in fourth with a personal best time of 14.52 was senior Justus Adams, ranking 15th on the MSU all-time list. Freshman Owen Petersohn was the final Maverick placer in the 110m hurdles, with a personal best time of 15.33 to finish in sixth.
 
Junior Onyekachi Ukaobasi claimed the first place mark in the triple jump, with a jump of 15.12 m (49' 7.25").
 
Junior Carson Dittel recorded a personal best vault of 5.32 m (17' 5.5") to finish in first place in pole vault and rank first on the MSU all-time list. Junior Alex Berg finished just under Dittel with a vault of 4.71 m (15' 5.5") to take second place. Sophomore Jed Hansen vaulted 4.56 m (14' 11.5") and placed fourth in the event. Finishing in fifth was freshman Austin Frank, with a vault of 4.41 m (14' 5.5"). Freshman Braxton Stewart marked a personal best vault to place eighth, with a vault of 3.26 m (10' 8.25").
 
In the 800m dash, senior Ben Schmied led the pack with a time of 1:52.26 to take first place. Junior Maquanet Collins recorded a personal best time of 1:54.64 to place third. Right behind was junior Caden Speikers in fourth with a personal best time of 1:55.71. To close the event for the Mavericks and placing fifth, sophomore Leif Larsen ran a 1:55.90.
 
Relays were hot for the Mavericks today as the 4x400m relay also finished in first place. Freshman Qai Hussey, sophomore Junior Pontes Da Veiga, senior Kenry Atubel, and junior Rashion Walker finished with a time of 3:10.54, ranking fifth on the MSU all-time list and 12th in the nation.
 
In the 400m hurdles, Petersohn again found the podium, finishing in second with another personal best time of 54.90. Freshman Chance Swenson also recorded a personal best time of 55.31 to finish in third. Placing sixth, junior Jeremiah Revere ran a 56.56.
 
Junior Tanner Maier claimed the first-place finish in the 1500m run with a time of 3:53.90.
 
Looking back to the field, junior Tommy Kucera placed fourth in the hammer throw after a personal best throw of 51.46 m (168' 10"), moving him to seventh on the MSU all-time list. Junior Thomas Spoehr placed seventh after also throwing a personal best of 48.66 m (159' 7"). Claiming the final podium spot was sophomore Zachery Shaner with a throw of 46.81 m (152' 7") to place eighth.
 
In shot put, Kucera finished in second with a throw of 15.71 m (51' 6.5"). Not far behind was junior Sam Moore with a throw of 15.45 m (50' 8.25") to place fourth. Freshman Ben Wieser also placed in the event with a throw of 15.08 m (49' 5.75"), finishing in fifth.
 
Freshman Michael Meadowcroft made his debut for the outdoor season with an incredible first place finish in high jump with a jump of 1.98 m (6' 6"). Sophomore Jacob Ziebarth finished in third with a jump of 1.88 m (6' 2"), followed by senior Caleb Cowles in fifth place with a jump of 1.83 m (6' 0").
 
In the final event of the day, junior Nikolai Schmanski finished in second in the 5000m run with a time of 15:35.66. On his heels was sophomore Adam Bohm, finishing in third with a personal best time of 15:36.36. Also running a personal best was freshman Tyler Shannon at 16:50.75 to place sixth. Freshman Tyler Lee also placed in the 5000m, with a time of 17:07.56 to place seventh.
 
The Mavericks host the Maverick Open #2 on Saturday, May 6th.