Shields, Jones Pick Up Victories for Men's Track & Field Leading Into MEC Championships

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Track & Field team placed third out of 17 total teams at the Hopkins/Loyola Invitational over the weekend.
 
Freshman Nate Shields and junior Caden Jones each picked up individual wins on the day, the former winning the long jump at 7.32m and the latter victorious in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:01.93. Shields' mark set a new outdoor PR and stands as the third-best jump in school history, while he also had a personal record in the 200 meters (22.33), finishing fifth overall. He then joined senior Nate Mesy, junior Marquise Burks, and freshmaj Ka'Von Turner in placing second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.99, just 0.14 seconds off of first place. Also in the sprints, sophomore Mason Reed earned third overall in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.60.
 
Joining Jones in the distance events, freshman Ryan Connelly set a new personal high in the 1,500 meters at 3:59.72, as did freshman Jaxon Jones (1:57.92) in the 800 meters and sophomore Brandon Stein (10:45.48) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Senior Justus LePrevost placed sixth in the 5,000 meters, running a season-best time of 15:15.44.
 
The throws portion of the meet featured several Bobcat PR's, headlined by four different athletes securing high marks in the hammer throw. Redshirt freshman Ire Maboudou led the way in fifth place with a throw of 42.10m, followed by sophomore Ben Treat (39.05m) and freshmen Tyler McGraw (36.18m) and Dalton Kasekamp (31.98m). Maboudou also set a personal best in the javelin throw at 39.82m, while McGraw did so as well in the discus with a toss of 30.36m. Rounding out the meet in the field events, junior Tom McCoy tied for first with a height of 4.65m.
 
Frostburg next will host the 2024 Mountain East Conference Outdoor Championships from Sunday, April 28 through Tuesday, April 30. Information on the event can be found at Championship Central, including ticket information and the meet schedule. Further updates will be posted at frostburgsports.com.