Lynchburg, VA (March 23, 2024) - On Friday and Saturday, the DeSales University men's outdoor track & field opened the outdoor season at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational hosted by Lynchburg University.

Beginning with the javelin throw, sophomore Dane Watson placed 13^th overall with a throw of 47.89m. Watson qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship with his performance. Sophomore Peter Skulski also set a massive personal best in the event with a throw of 43.74m (17^th overall).

On the track in the invite 1500-meter, senior Shane Artis placed 21^st overall with a time of 4:03.03. Then, in the open 1500-meter the next day, first-year Jozef Callano took ninth overall with a time of 4:06.89. Senior Ben Phillippy finished with a 4:08.29, good for 14^th overall. All three qualified for the conference championship in the event.

There were other notable performances in the 1500-meter, including first-year Joey Wilson, who placed 23^rd overall with a time of 4:12.44. Senior Tim Connell set a big personal best with a time of 4:16.02 (30^th overall). First-year Jaden Parrish won the last heat of the event in 4:28.34 (48^th overall), while sophomores Jordan Gallo set a personal best with a time of 4:50.14 (66^th overall).

In the invite 5000-meter, first-year Dylan Dosckocil took 19^th place overall with a personal best time of 16:11.34. The next day, sophomore Antonio Rinaldi set a massive personal best to finish 13^th overall in the open 5000-meter with a time of 16:50.50.

Closing out the events for the first day in the 10,000-meter, graduate student Matt Santacoloma stole the show by taking a first-place victory with a time of 32:08.44. Fellow graduate student Brian Bruno also set a personal best in the event, taking fourth place overall with a time of 32:35.10 to notch the eighth-place spot on the all-time list. Both athletes qualified for the MAC Championship and the AARTFC Outdoor Championship with their marks.

Another pack of Bulldogs hit the MAC qualifying standard in the 10,000-meter, including senior Dean Ricco (18^th overall – 34:01.58), senior Matt Chylack (19^th overall – 34:08.96), graduate student Tom Greve (20^th overall – 34:15.32), and junior Cody Smith (21^st overall – 34:40.39).

Moving to the second day of events, sophomores Jonathan Eudja and Giovanni Wellington kicked things off in the hammer throw with big personal bests. Eudja finished 12^th overall with a throw of 42.27m (12^th place), while Wellington placed 15^th with a mark of 40.13m. Both athletes easily qualified for the conference championship.

In the long jump, senior Xavier Phoenix placed seventh overall in the championship field with a jump of 6.53m. First-years Weston Simak and Lens Demosthene then took second and ninth place in the open field with jumps of 6.43m and 5.99m, respectively. All three athletes qualified for the championships in the event.

Back to the throws, junior Jacob Schaeffer took 26^th place with a mark of 12.74m in the shot put. Then, in the discus, Schaeffer set a personal best, taking 16^th place with a throw of 38.43m.

Then, in the 100-meter dash, senior Logan Berner finished ninth overall with a time of 11.06. With his effort, Berner qualified for the MAC Championship in the event. Phoenix came back from the jumps to place 45^th overall in a time of 11.71. First-years George Canaby (52^nd overall – 11.82), Simak (59^th overall – 11.94), and Bryce Guthier (61^st overall – 12.01) also had impressive debuts in the event.

In the triple jump, Simak hit a mark of 13.19m to come in seventh place overall in the championship field. The jump put Simak in fourth on the all-time list and qualified him for the conference championship in the event.

In the 400-meter, first-year Colin Marsh set a personal best with a time of 51.57, a qualifying mark for the conference championship.

For the 800-meter run, Artis took 27^th place with a time of 1:59.42, while Phillippy finished close behind to take 32^nd with a time of 2:00.15. Both qualified for the conference championship in the event. Connell then came back to set another personal best with a time of 2:03.30 (45^th overall), while Wilson ran a time of 2:05.54 (57^th overall).

Finally, in the 200-meter, senior Kyle Dunbar and Berner both big set personal bests with times of 22.06 (13^th overall) and 22.92 (30^th overall). Marsh then made his debut in the event, running a 23.15 to finish 40^th overall. All three qualified for the MAC Championship in the event.

After just one meet, the Bulldogs already have 18 athletes who have qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship at Widener University in May.

After a successful first showing, the Bulldogs will return to action next Saturday (March 30) at the Danny Curran Invitational hosted by Widener University.