Youngstown, Ohio – The 2023-24 track & field season got underway on Friday as the West Liberty University men's and women's teams traveled to the YSU Icebreaker. The squads combined for ten top-10 finishes on the day which included an event win for George Donovic in the unseeded high jump. A total of three school records fell on the day, starting with Mikhi Anderson in the 60 meter hurdles, Ky'Ara Ross in the 200 meter dash, and Ross and Sierra Lanham tied for the school record mark in the long jump.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Lorenzo Ferrera opened the day for the West Liberty men with the fastest qualifying time in the meet's 60 meter dash, recording a time of 6.96. He then improved his time to 6.93 in the event and finished tenth in the prelims.
• Robert Allen paced the Hilltopper men in the 5,000 meter run as he crossed the line in a time of 15:43.87 and 13^th place overall.
• The first school record of the year fell as Mikhi Anderson posted a time of 8.19 in the 60 meter hurdles and finished ninth in the prelims.
• Tyler Davis and Patrick Childers were the lone athletes competing in the one mile run for the West Liberty men's team, running to times of 5:05.07 and 5:12.17 in the opening meet of the year for 31^st and 33^rd place finishes.
• Arthur Williams recorded the best time in the 400 meter dash for WLU, notching a time of 51.97 with a 50^th place finish.
• Ferrera collected another top-15 finish with a time of 22.41 in the 200 meter dash where he finished 13^th overall.
• Francis Toohey added a fourth place finish for the Hilltoppers in the 3,000 meter run as recorded a time of 8:55.01. Jasper Brown notched a personal best time in the same race as he crossed the line in 9:30.41 in 16^th place.
• The running events concluded with George Donovic, Malachi Stewart, Chase Pepper, and Williams in the 4x400 meter relay where the team finished in 3:33.84 to earn 16^th place.
• To start off the field events, Daminn Cunningham turned in a tenth place finish in the seeded high jump competition as he hit a mark of 1.85m (6-00.75).
• In the unseeded high jump competition, the Hilltoppers saw George Donovic win the event with a personal best mark of 1.90m (6-02.75) while Ethan Furbee recorded a third place finish with a jump of 1.85m (6-00.75). Shane Anderson also notched a top-10 result as he completed a jump of 1.75 (5-08.75) for ninth place.
• The Black & Gold saw three athletes record top-11 finishes in the long jump, led by Cunningham with a seventh place finish and jump of 7.02m (23-00.50). Gage Patterson and BriJuan Baylor notched tenth and 11^th place jumps of 6.61m (21-08.25) and 6.56m (21.06.25) respectively.
• Quinn Ashbrooke and AJ Cherico were the top two WLU athletes in the triple jump as Ashbrooke hit a mark of 12.46m (40-10.50) for 13^th overall while Cherico hit a mark of 11.84m (38-10.25) for 16^th place.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Morgan Lesnansky and Shania Keene opened the day with personal best times to lead West Liberty in the 5,000 meter run, posting times of 20:00.22 and 20:10.95 respectively to finish 19^th and 20^th.
• Ky'Ara Ross posted the fastest time by a Hilltopper in the 60 meter dash, finishing 12^th in the qualifying rounds with a time of 8.02. Sierra Lanham also recorded a time of 8.03 in the event and finished in 14^th.
• Marissa Scott ran the best time by a WLU athlete in the 60 meter hurdles as she recorded a 21^st place finish and time of 9:48.
• Lacey Dimit made her freshman debut on the track with the highest finish among runners for the Black & Gold in the one mile run, finishing 14^th with a time of 5:39.32.
• The top finisher in the 400 meter dash was Brookelyn Reynolds as she crossed the line 31^st overall in a time of 1:02.53.
• Ross also collected the best finish for West Liberty in the 200 meter dash, earning a 26^th place finish with a school record time of 26.40.
• The running events ended with Dimit, Madelyn Cisar, Bailey Pack and Reynolds competing in the 4x400 meter relay where they notched a time of 4:32.96 and 15^th place finish.
• Ross and Lanham tied for fourth place in the long jump as they each posted a school record jump of 5.53m (18-01.75).

 
UP NEXT
The West Liberty University men's and women's track & field teams will be in action one final time in the month of December as next week they will compete in either the GVSU Holiday Open on December 8 or the SPIRE Holiday College Classic.