HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's indoor track and field team is in first place after day one of the Mountain East Conference Championships hosted by Marshall University. Five events were scored on Friday and the Hilltoppers accumulated 64.5 team points.
 
The men's distance medley team set a new conference championships record and hit an NCAA provisional mark racing to a first-place finish with a 10:01.57. The team of Michael Harriman, Arthur Williams, Tavian Richardson, and Danah Phillips shattered the school record, which they set last weekend, by nearly six seconds.
 
Sophomore Reese Burnside took gold for the second straight season in pole vault clearing 4.70m on his first try. He went over 4.30m, 4.45m, and 4.60m all on his first attempt as well. The first-try clear of 4.70m proved to be the difference maker as a Glenville State opponent tied Burnside at 4.70m but it took him two attempts. Burnside's first-place finish earned 10 team points. Nate Lucas tied for eighth and captured half a point for the Black and Gold with a 3.70m clear.
 
The Hilltoppers totaled 24 points in the long jump, as they held spots 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 on the final leaderboard. Gage Patterson led the way with a 6.88m on his third try placing second, Daminn Cunningham earned the bronze medal with a 6.84m, then Liam Vinskovich charted a 6.77m coming in fourth place. Brijuan Baylor (6.53m) and Dakota Thomas (6.51m) rounded out the scoring Hilltoppers.
 
The freshman duo of Josh Fancher and Luis Martinez added 14 points to the team score finishing 2 and 3 in the shot put with a pair of personal best's. Fancher had his long toss on his third attempt with a 16.18m finishing second in the meet, while Martinez threw a 15.97m in his second try placing third.
 
Ben Bumgarner (14:36.86) and Brenden Sands (14:58.63) earned team points in the 5000m race. Bumgarner finished in fifth place claiming four points, while Sands was two spots behind picking up two points.
 
Jonathan Stout is currently in seventh place and will finish the heptathlon tomorrow with the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m race.
 
Charleston sits in second place entering Saturday with 45 points, while Frostburg State (25.5), Glenville State (23), and Concord (20) round out the top-five.
 
Follow all the action starting at 10 am tomorrow live on MountainEast.tv or follow the live results here. The day starts with the heptathlon at 10 am, followed by field events at 11 am and 1:15 pm, then eight running events will determine the ultimate champion.
 
Full Men's Schedule: Saturday, February 18, 2023
Multis
10:00 am              Heptathlon (60H, Pole Vault, 1000m)
Field Events
11:00 am              Weight Throw      Men       (Trials & Finals)
                              High Jump            Men       (Finals)
1:15 pm                Triple Jump          Men       (Trials & Finals)

Running Events
3:10 pm                60m Hurdles        Men       (Finals)
3:30 pm                60m                      Men       (Finals)
3:55 pm                Mile                      Men       (Finals)
4:20 pm                400m                    Men       (Finals)
4:40 pm                800m                    Men       (Finals)
5:00 pm                200m                    Men       (Finals)
5:30 pm                3000m                  Men       (Finals)
6:05 pm                4x400m Relay      Men       (Finals)

Follow Hilltopper Track and Field all season online at HilltopperSports.com and on Twitter (@WLU_XCTF | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_xctf | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.