BETHANY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University track teams rolled to a convincing sweep of the John Falconi Invitational Wednesday afternoon at nearby Bethany College.

    Coach Justin Simpson's Hilltoppers won the men's and women's team titles in the "mini-meet," with most schools entering partial squads of specific performance groups. West Liberty racked up 150 points to easily outdistance the host Bison (83) in the 6-team men's competition while the Black and Gold women also had a runaway win, amassing 130 team points to 92 for runner-up Bethany.

    No school or meet records fell on Thursday but plenty of Hilltoppers found their way to the winners circle. On the track, Mikhi Anderson won the 100 and Brody Cermak took the 10000 meter run.

    West Liberty dominated the field events. Luis Martinez and Josh Fancher won the shot and discus, respectively, with John Brown finishing first in the hammer and Marshall Whipkey winning the javelin. Reese Burnside posted an easy win in the pole vault and Daminn Cunningham took the triple jump.

    The Hilltopper women won just three events but their quality depth in several of the field events proved to be decisive. The Black and Gold had four of the top six placers in the shot put, five of the top nine throwers in the javelin and eight out of the top 10 competitors in the hammer.

    Abbe Stackpole gave WLU a win in the 200 meters and Suzan Johnson added a win in the hammer throw. Rounding out the WLU women's winners was Olivia Combs, who led the field in the pole vault.

    The West Liberty men and women head to Morgantown on Friday for the first day of competition in the Mountaineer Showcase, hosted by West Virginia University.

   

TRACK AND FIELD

Bethany Mini-Meet

Team Scoring

Men

     1. WEST LIBERTY 150; 2. Bethany 83; 3. Washington & Jefferson 63; 4. Glenville State 61; 5. Wheeling 44; 6. Waynesburg 39

Women

     1. WEST LIBERTY 130; 2. Bethany 92; 3. Waynesburg 46; 4. Washington & Jefferson 40; 5. Glenville State 35; 6. Wheeling 34

West Liberty Winners

Men

     100: 1. Mikhi Anderson 10.99

     10000: 1. Brody Cermak 33:37.30

     Triple Jump: 1. Daminn Cunningham 12.37m (40-7)

     Shot: 1. Luis Martinez 16.35m (53-7.75)

     Disc: 1. Josh Fancher 43.17m (141-7)

     Hammer: 1. John Brown 45.20m (148-3)

     Javelin: 1. Marshall Whipkey 49.05m (160-11)

     Pole Vault: 1. Reese Burnside 4.55m (14-11)

Women

     200: 1. Abbe Stackpole 26.83

     Hammer: 1. Suzan Johnson 46.57m (152-9)

     Pole Vault: 1. Olivia Combs 3.50m (11-5.75)