LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Wittenberg men's track and field team opened its 2024 outdoor season on Saturday with a first-place finish at the Pioneer Invite hosted by Transylvania University.

The Basics

• Venue: Pat Deacon Stadium - Lexington, Ky.
• Wittenberg placed first in the 16-team field with 151 points. Midway was second with 88 points, and Bluffton was third with 83.5 points.

Wittenberg's Top Performers

• Wittenberg won one relay and four individual events and posted 13 additional top-five finishes.
• Junior Cameron Elliott (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield), sophomore Mason Duncan (Cardington, Ohio/Highland), senior Zeke Bennett (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley) and freshman Ethan Davis (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Houston) won the 4x400 relay in 3:26.22.
• Elliott also won the 400 meters, posting a time of 50.22 seconds.
• Freshman Owen Bier (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) won the 400-meter hurdles in 59.18 seconds. Senior Chance Keller (Newark, Ohio/Heath) was fourth in 1:03.45.
• Junior Justin Norris (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown Christian) won the high jump with a mark of 1.95 meters. Sophomore Grayson Ring (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) was second with a mark of 1.85 meters.
• Sophomore Jeremy Watson (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) won the pole vault with a mark of 4.20 meters. Freshman Kane Cissell (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County) placed third with a mark of 3.90 meters.
• Senior Peter Caine (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:08.45.
• Freshman Jayden McKinster (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) placed second in the discus with a mark of 45.30 meters. Freshman Zeth Cowin (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) was fourth with a mark of 40.19 meters.
• Senior Sam Callinan (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.70 seconds. Freshman Luke Amburgey (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County) was fifth in 16.92 seconds.
• Freshman Neal Godfrey (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) placed fourth in the 100 meters in 11.16 seconds.
• Bennett added a fifth-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:01.42.
• Junior Jack Houck (Stow, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) was fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.99 meters.
• Junior Dominic Cork (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) was fifth in the javelin with a mark of 41.78 meters.
• McKinster added a fifth-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 13.20 meters.

Quote - Head coach Paris Hilliard

• "The team showed real character today. The weather conditions were not the best, but everyone had positive attitudes and competed hard. This was a good start to the season."

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Friday and Saturday, March 29-30, at the WashU Distance Carnival and WashU Invite in St. Louis, Mo.