INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- The Trine University men's track & field team began the indoor season at the unscored University of Indianapolis Season Opener.
In the running events, freshman Connor Kissinger (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) and junior Ty Hoover (Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes) both finished in the top-10 in the 400-meter dash with Kissinger placing ninth with a time of 55.32 seconds and Hoover was 10th at 56.02 seconds.
Two Thunder runners qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash in sophomore Josh Davis (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) and senior Jacob Root (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg). Davis recorded a time of 7.08 seconds to place second overall and Root was two spots back in fourth place after a time of 7.13 seconds.
Trine had three competitors post top-10 marks in the 200-meter dash with freshman Jake Gladieux (Oregon, Ohio/Whitmer) taking the top finish of third place in a time of 23.06 seconds. Root and Davis went back-to-back in fifth and sixth place with both recording times of 23.06 seconds.
Freshmen Aidan Lapp (South Bend, Ind./Riley) and Justin Rode (Custar, Ohio/McComb) rounded out the top-10 marks for the Thunder in the running events with a fourth-place showing by Lapp in the 800-meter run (2:09.44) and Rode placed eighth (2:12.61) in the same event.
Highlighting the field events was a pair of third-place finishes by sophomore Noah McClellan (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) and senior Mitchell Martin (Bowling Green, Ohio). McClellan placed third in the long jump with a best jump of 20' 5.75" and Martin placed third in the weight throw following a toss of 55' 9.25". McClellan also competed in the triple jump and posted the top finish for the Thunder of third place in a distance of 41' 8.75".
Also in the long jump, freshman Matthew Sylvester (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) finished in the top-10 with a best distance of 19' 9.5" which was good enough for 10th place.
Sophomore Theodore Samra (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt) and junior Nicholas Kane (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) completed with Martin in the weight throw and placed seventh (48' 6.25") and eighth (45' 6.5"), respectively.
In the shot put, Kane and senior Skyler Dunckley (Cedar, Mich./Traverse City West) finished in the top-10 led by Kane who was eighth with a throw of 44' 9" and Dunckley finished a spot behind in ninth place at 43' 10.5".
Junior Alex Sliter (Bryan, Ohio/Fairview) cleared the bar at 12' 8.25" in the pole vault to lead Trine and was part of a four-way tie for fifth place. Sophomore Jon-Matthew Spaw (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) also competed in the event and tied for ninth place after posting a best mark of 12' 2.5".
Trine will be idle until Saturday, Jan. 11 when it hosts the Sean Brady/Keith Turner Alumni Open. The first events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.