Marauders take five events at Anderson University Invite
 
ANDERSON, Indiana – A last minute schedule change proved to pay off for the confidence of the Central State men's track & field team as CSU combined to win five events and a total of nine top-five finishes at the Anderson University (IN) Invite.

Originally scheduled to take a few of the top athletes to the University of Akron this weekend, CSU opted to compete in a field that would allow for more members of the team to compete. The decision resulted in two student-athletes picking up their first victories in their events this season and an array of personal best performances. 

Already among the nation's best 60 meter hurdlers, freshman Juan Scott set a course record and a personal best as he blazed past the finish line with a time of 8.01. His time also bumps him up to No. 7 on the national qualifying list.

Devin Weems, who has battled back nicely from an early season injury, picked up first place in the 800 meter run with a pace of 2:04.48.

Distance runner Emmanuel Birgen won the 3000 meter run, crossing the line with a time of 9:10.84.


The Marauders came close to sweeping the relays. The 4 x 400 foursome consisted of Scott, Ja'Vonte Brown, Kamren Perrin and Baron Wilson, whose time of 3.22.28 topped the next closest team by 12 seconds. Weems, Wilson, Perrin and Birgen teamed up to take the distance medley with a time of 10:56.40.

The 4 x 200 team made up of Darin Good, Ronnie Turner, Chermonte' Bennett and Brown finished second at 1:33.10, finishing just behind Anderson.

Other notable performances included Gooch's second place finishes in the 200 meter dash (22.84) and long jump (6.50m) along with Brown's second place performance in the 400 meter run (51.95),


Quotable: Head Coach James Rollins

"It is important to get as much work as we can over the next few weeks. We had a number of guys go out and show their progression towards achieving the marks they want to set."

"We continue to push our student-athletes to qualify for nationals. I think we have a really good chance to send multiple athletes to the championships next month."