TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Franklin College track and field teams stepped outside to compete for the first time this year on Saturday (Mar. 19) afternoon, taking part in the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Meet.
The Grizzly men turned in a strong collective effort, putting up 123.5 points to grab a third-place finish against a seven-team field. Franklin won three events and collected nine top-three finishes on the afternoon.
Senior Zak Wiley turned in three strong showings in the field, which included a win in the hammer throw with a mark of 45.87m. Wiley added a runner-up finish in the discus (39.51m) and placed fifth in the javelin (37.30m).
Wiley was one of several Grizzly throwers to earn points on Saturday. Sophomore Dalen Williams took third in the discus (37.85m), Noah Sigler took fourth in the hammer (39.46m) and fifth in the shot put (12.65m), TJ Cox placed fifth in the hammer (37.52m) and Jason Arbogast placed sixth in the shot put (11.99m).
On the track, junior Jaycee Wilburn earned the first race win of the day with a time of 2:01.94 in the 800m run. Fellow junior Nick Patton won the 110 hurdles, hitting the finish line in 15.98 seconds and finishing .01 seconds off matching a career-best time.
In the 4x400m relay, the Grizzlies earned two of the top three positions. Michael Heading, Drew McGaha, Eli Cochrane and Wilburn combined for a winning time of 3:35.95. Luke Paddock, Peyton Ruble, Henry Davidson and Tristan Konkler teamed up to take third place with a time of 3:41.75. That wasn't the only relay the Grizzlies saw success in, as the 4x100 relay team of Patton, Jason Brown, Tivon Wiley and Zach Roberts took third in 45.47 seconds.
Other notable finishes for the FC men included:
-Roberts taking third in the 100m (11.21) and fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:04.03).
-Wiley tying for third in the pole vault (3.83m).
-Konkler placing fourth in the high jump (1.85m)
-Paddock finishing fourth in the 400m (53.47)
-Cochrane taking fourth in the 800m (2:07.24)
-McGaha placing sixth in the 800m (2:07.83)
-John Asplund finishing sixth in the 5K (15:40.89)
The Grizzlies continue their outdoor season next Saturday (Mar. 26) when they take part in the Hanover Invitational.
