Men's Track and Field | 3/24/2019 12:44:00 PM

    The West Liberty University men's and women's track teams helped West Virginia University make history and turned in a few historic performances of their own in an impressive weekend for the Black and Gold.
    The bulk of Coach Justin Simpson's men's and women's teams was in Morgantown for Saturday's West Virginia Open. It was the inaugural meet at West Virginia University's new $7 million Mountaineer Center track complex in Mylan Park and the Hilltoppers more than rose to the occasion.
    "It was really fun to take the team to WVU's new track facility," Simpson said. "It was an historic day for their program and I'm happy that not only were we able to be a part of it, we performed very well and came away with some wins."
    For the men, West Liberty's strength in the field events was on full display at the sparkling new facility.
    Dominique Hudson – the reigning MEC Track Athlete of the Week – swept the shot, discus and hammer throw events, setting a school record in the discus with a throw of 161-4 (49.17). That's one of the top 20 throws in the country this spring and less than 2 feet away from an NCAA Division II provisional qualifier.
    Not to be outdone, sophomore Isaiah Robinson broke a long-standing school record in the triple jump with a leap of 47-3 (14.40m). That came up less than a foot away from the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard and currently ranks as the 14th-best triple jump by an NCAA Division II student-athlete this season.
    Robinson's record-setting effort erased a mark that had been on the WLU books for more than four decades. The previous standard of 47 feet, 1 inch (14.35m) was set by James Coleman in the spring of 1977.
    Fellow sophomore Isaiah Claytor also came away with a win as he was the only competitor to clear 6 feet in the high jump, taking first place with a jump of 6 feet, 3/4 inches (1.85m).
    On the track, Zac Banks and Ben Hart finished 1-2 in the 1500 Steeplechase with less than a second separating them while the relay teams carded an impressive double, sweeping the 4x100 and 4x400 relay events.
    The women's relay teams also performed well, winning the 4x100 race and placing second in the 4x400.
    Hannah Ramirez took runner-up honors in the 3000 meter run, Aubrey Story was second in the high jump and Natalie Casale was runner-up in the triple jump.
    Freshman Kelsi Hulit was third in the discus and fourth in the shot.
    The good news wasn't limited to Morgantown, however, as Coach Simpson had a skeleton crew competing in the multi-events at West Virginia Wesleyan's Bobcat Classic on Friday and Saturday.
    Final results are not yet available from Wesleyan but the Hilltoppers certainly made their presence felt.
    Adam O'Donnell, a sophomore from Martinsburg, W.Va., won the men's decathlon while Zayne Brakeall and Meghan Hawthorne finished second and third, respectively, in the women's heptathlon.
    Simpson said Brakeall, a freshman from Cumberland, Md., set a school record with her point total in the heptathlon.
    The WLU track squads will be back in action on Saturday when they make the short trek up Route 88 to compete in the Bethany Invitational.