After a season marked by strong individual performances, Bluefield State's second-year track and field program earned its first team win in program history Friday at the Concord Alumni Invitational. The Big Blue women finished second at the six-team meet, trailing host Concord.
"Track and field is unique in that there's a path to individual success and a path to team success," said B-State Head Coach Brooks Rexroat. "The team path looks and feels a little different sometimes. We've got some guys who've come in and learned new events in areas of need, or areas of vulnerability within our region and division. We've got folks who have competed in a higher volume of events than they might have expected or hoped, which can lead to some fatigue. The individual marks might not be as strong on a given day because we're taking on a heavier load, but I think it was special to see that work and selflessness pay off at a meet close to home, with lots of family and friends in the stands. It was a small meet, but we beat established, strong programs that we've got a lot of respect for, and I think this is a great step forward for us as a team."
The team win was Rexroat's first as a collegiate track and field head coach.
"My dad, Patrick, was a legend at Penn State and a long-time high school coach in Cincinnati. To be able to see the team pick up that first win with Dad in the stadium was about the most special thing I could ever have asked for. He taught me to love and respect this sport, and along with my wife and co-coach Rachael, encouraged me to pursue this path, so that was a special day for our family as well as the team."
Friday's meet was a breakthrough contest for B-State's male sprinters.
Joey Isaacs took third in the 100m dash with a season-best and school record performance. In the 200m dash, Isaacs took second, leading a trio of B-State placers. McKinley Pennix and Jalen Jones also picked up points for the Big Blue.
In the 400m dash, Jones took the event title, with Pennix following closely behind in second.
"McKinley's season didn't look like he wanted it to: he came in as a decorated jumper and hurdler, and an early season injury has forced him to focus more on the long sprints to take some pressure off a muscle group," Rexroat said. "The way he has adapted and found a way to contribute is impressive and speaks to the kind of person and teammate he is. Joey keeps getting better, Jalen had a big day: we're super-proud of that whole group, and Coach Rachael keeps finding ways to get the best out of them week after week."
The middle-distance group had a solid day, with Austin Sigman taking second in the 800 run and Tyler Davis finishing third in the 3000m run.
"We kept the work load a little lighter for this group in preparation for our championship season, but we liked what we saw, and both guys came out with some competitive fire," Rexroat said.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Ben Walker took the meet championship with a new personal best mark and a school record in the event. Trevor Nefe finished second
in the 400-meter hurdles while Walker finished fourth and Bryant Welch finished fifth.
"Ben has learned the hurdles for us this year, Trevor is flourishing both as a hurdler and vaulter while also excelling in his primary events with the jumps group—this is even more evidence of the kind of ambition and self-sacrifice these guys have had to put in extra work and help us find points," Rexroat said.
The evening was capped with a photo finish in the 4X400-meter relay, where the Big Blue edged out Bluefield University to take the title. The effort produced a new school record for B-State.
"We try to preach to our team that every practice rep sets the tone for something that will happen along the line in competition, and this was a great example," said Rexroat. "The race ebbed and flowed back and forth between two really solid relay teams, but Trevor made a gutsy surge across the line that put us over the top. We told the team afterward that's why we train the way we do every day—we don't run to the line but well past it. We put in that little extra, every time out. We work just a little harder, we give ourselves just a little more fire when our bodies are spent and it'd be easy to just coast in. Watching that philosophy get put into play and seeing the results on display in that final event was a big highlight of a really wonderful day."
Earlier in the day, Bluefield State dominated the field events. Dieuvens Lebreton won the high jump with teammates Trevor Nefe and Darius Brown following in second and third. Nefe won the pole vault, with Welch in second. Walker took the long jump title, followed by Brown in second and Pennix in fourth.
Brown won the triple jump, with Pennix in third, Nefe in fourth, and Lebreton in fifth.
"I love to build teams around the jumps and hurdles groups, because those are athletes with body control and spatial awareness and the ability to excel across a number of event disciplines," Rexroat said. "This is a special group and they keep heading up events meet after meet. Nearly all of them are freshman, and this is a group that's going to do big things, this season and beyond."
In the throwing circles, Myles Rice led the shot put contingent with a fourth place finish. Dominic Escamilla took fifth and Samba Jah finished seventh.
Escamilla won the discus, with Thomas Smith and Sherman Franklin rounding out the top three. Jah took eighth in the event.
In perhaps the day's most impressive performance, Lebreton threw a lifetime best by nearly 12 meters to finish second in the javelin. The toss places him among the top 15 competitors in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region.
Just outside of the scoring tables was Ethan Spangler, who was also impressive in his first outdoor action of the season after returning from an injury layoff.
"Our throwers had some ups and downs today, but we're on an upward trajectory, and we're starting to put together some of the small technical fixes that can get us to the next level," Rexroat said. "Today was a good, solid day all around, but I think the whole group is ready for a breakthrough as we wind things down on the season."
In the women's sprints, Lillie Shinaberry turned in a pair of season-best performances for finish third in both the 100m and 200m races.
In the longest race of the day for B-State, Emma Flynn took second in the 3000m run.
"Lillie had some rest coming in to the meet and she put together a solid couple of races," Rexroat said. "Emma's specialty this season has been the steeplechase, which wasn't contested at this meet, so we did some training work in the open 3K, and we were happy with how she ran today."
Bluefield State earned the bulk of its points in the hurdles and field events.
Khrisalyn Kegler won both hurdle races, Raelyn Vadala won the long jump with a season-best performance, Kayla Havens won the triple jump, Rori Cox took the high jump title, and Arianna Wickliff and Karlee Williams finished first and second in the pole vault.
"All of these ladies put up points in multiple events and event areas, and it's astonishing to see the versatility of this group," Rexroat said. "Kayla came in as a strong hurdler and is now a huge asset to the team in a trio of jumping events. Arianna is hurdling very well right now and is picking up the vault with a great deal of success. Karlee is vaulting well, too, and Rori has taken to the high jump quickly under the instruction of Coach Asia Green. Aerihna Afoa is quickly making strides as a jumper, too, and Rae just continues to be strong across a whole range of events while Khrisalyn keeps taking care of business in both hurdle races. We did cut back on the ladies' event volume a bit this week to make sure we hit some qualifying marks heading into championship season, and our whole power event group is ready to make a splash in the post-season."
In the throwing circles, Oliviah Green won the discus, Beyonka Lee took second in the shot put, and Green, Rylee Truslow, Kateryna Dashevska, and Taylor Anderson took four of the top eight spots in the javelin.
"The women really had a nice day in the throws," said Rexroat. "Liv put up career-best marks in both events, Beyonka continues to grow in both skill and consistency, and the whole javelin group looked strong. That was a good day all around for us."
Bluefield State will take next weekend off and cap the season at the USCAA Small Colllege Championship Invitational in Springfield, Massachusetts.
"As we prepare to enter the CIAA in July, the USCAA is our championship meet this year, and I think we're going to go into it and catch some attention," Rexroat said. "The athletes are peaking at the right time, we've gotten some folks healthy and in form at the key moment, and our lineup is set in a way that seems very strong. We'll take the next two weeks to zoom in on some final details and close this season out properly.
