Keydets Run Fastest 4X800 in NCAA This Season, Kitur Takes Open 800 at IC4A/ECAC's

Men's Track and Field VMIKeydets.com

Wood, Lawson, Kitur Lead VMI at Liberty Open

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Antonio Wood posted his first career IC4A qualifying effort to capture the heptathlon, Chad Lawson qualified for the IC4A's in the weight throw and Felix Kitur won the 1,000-meter run to pace the VMI track and field programs Saturday at the Liberty Open, hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Wood scored 4824 points to win the heptathlon, his first career collegiate victory. The sophomore finished no lower than sixth in any of the seven events, and managed no worse than a tie for fourth in six of the seven competitions.

Saturday, he finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles, which is traditionally a solid event for Wood, then tied for fourth in the pole vault before placing third in the 1,500-meter run. Wood becomes the sixth IC4A qualifier for the Keydets this season, joining the 4X800-meter relay team, Ademola Titcombe (triple jump), Dennis James (high jump) and Lawson and Kitur's qualification efforts on Saturday.

Lawson, the senior out of Richmond, placed fourth in the weight throw with a 16.83 meter toss (55'2 ¾”), just edging out the 16.80 meter qualification standard. It will be Lawson's third straight trip to the indoor IC4A Championships.

Kitur, competing in the 1,000-meters for the first time in his collegiate career, assumed the lead approximately 100 yards into the race's first lap and never relinquished it, en route to a 2:30.20 time. The effort was just three-tenths of a second off the IC4A standard, but due to conversions for track type, was a qualifying effort. Andrey Dmitriev (2:32.63), Dean Gonsalves (2:33.19) and Ermin Mujezinovic (2:33.86) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively, helping VMI dominate the event.

In other results, Cabell Willis was second in the 3,000-meters, posting a personal best time of 8:43.58. VMI's next highest finish was a fourth-place, recorded by Cody Davis in the shot put. He tossed the implement 15.18 meters (49'9 ¾”), shortly after he finished 11th in the weight throw, the day's first event, thanks to a mark of 15.59 M (51'1 ¾”).

Titcombe, who punched his ticket to the IC4A triple jump at VMI's season opener, tied for sixth in that event Saturday. He recorded a mark of 13.85 M (45'4 ¼”), just ahead of his teammate Terrance Green, who leapt 13.37 M (43'10 ½”) and finished 10th.

In other results on the men's side, James Alexander was seventh in the 200-meters (22.92), Kyle Fuller finished 7th in the 500-meters (1:08.32), and Michael Munson (fifth, 4132) and Dennis James (3937, eighth) finished behind Wood in the heptathlon. Of note, Saturday marked the conclusion of James' first collegiate multi-event competition.

For the Keydet women, Molly Western and Leah Schubel were the day's top finishers. Western placed sixth in the 800-meters with a time of 2:25.83, while Hannah Best (2:29.80) also earned a top-15 finish in that race. Schubel was sixth in the mile, clocking in at 5:21.94, nearly four seconds ahead of Dalton Kuhar's solid ninth-place effort (5:25.49).

Jasmine Hariston also competed for VMI, placing eighth in both the long jump (5.15 M/16'10 ¾”) and the triple jump (11.25 M/36'11”).

VMI track and field will return to action Saturday, Feb. 5, as the Keydets host the annual VMI Winter Relays at Cormack Field House. The first event is set to get underway at 8:30 a.m.
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Players Mentioned

Hannah Best

Hannah Best

Distance
Freshman
Jasmine Hariston

Jasmine Hariston

Jumps
Redshirt Sophomore
Dalton Kuhar

Dalton Kuhar

Distance
Freshman
Leah Schubel

Leah Schubel

Distance
Sophomore
Molly Western

Molly Western

Mid-Distance
Freshman
James Alexander

James Alexander

Sprints
Senior
Cody Davis

Cody Davis

Throws
Senior
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Mid-Distance
Redshirt Freshman
Kyle Fuller

Kyle Fuller

Mid-Distance
Junior
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Mid-Distance
Senior
Terrance Green

Terrance Green

Jumps/Sprints
Senior
Dennis James

Dennis James

High Jump
Senior

Players Mentioned

Hannah Best

Hannah Best

Freshman
Distance
Jasmine Hariston

Jasmine Hariston

Redshirt Sophomore
Jumps
Dalton Kuhar

Dalton Kuhar

Freshman
Distance
Leah Schubel

Leah Schubel

Sophomore
Distance
Molly Western

Molly Western

Freshman
Mid-Distance
James Alexander

James Alexander

Senior
Sprints
Cody Davis

Cody Davis

Senior
Throws
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Redshirt Freshman
Mid-Distance
Kyle Fuller

Kyle Fuller

Junior
Mid-Distance
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Senior
Mid-Distance
Terrance Green

Terrance Green

Senior
Jumps/Sprints
Dennis James

Dennis James

Senior
High Jump