SATURDAY RECAP
 
CONWAY, Ark. – The Saturday session at the SAA Men's Track & Field Championships saw Centre pull off some impressive performances, including a slew of podium finishes and a new school record in the hurdles as the Colonels finished second overall.
 
The Colonels finished with a combined team score of 190 points to take second place for the meet. Berry won this year's title with 277.5 points, with Rhodes, Hendrix and Oglethorpe rounding out the top five in that order.
 
The opening race of the day was the 5k, and after finishing second in the 10k on Friday, senior cross country captain Will Lovell picked up a huge victory for the Colonels as he posted a winning time of 15:04.78. In the 1500m, Reeve VanDemark paced the Colonels with a seventh place finish and a time of 4:06.52. Carter Russell led Centre in the 800m, finishing fifth with a time of 1:58.19 as the only freshman in the scoring column, with Noah George in seventh and Luke Watkins in eighth.
 
In the men's 4x100m relay, the team of Dirk Gambrel, Gray Rahbany, Beau Brown and Jackson Heim finished second overall as they combined for a time of 42.61. Gambrel, Rahbany and Heim later teamed with Corbin Ison and went on to make history when they ran the 4x400m relay, as they won the race with a time of 3:19.05, breaking the school record that had stood since 1999 and 2003.
 
Heim and Rahbany went on to earn podium finishes in the 400m, with Heim finishing second in 48.51, followed by Rahbany in third at 48.82.
 
In sprints, Brown took second place in the 100m with a time of 10.75, one of two times in the race that set a new Hendrix track facility record. He also finished third in the 200m with a time of 21.77, with Rahbany in fourth and Heim in sixth.
 
The hurdling events turned out to be good ones for the Centre men. Gambrel set a new school record with a time of 53.40 in the 400m hurdles, breaking the program high mark held by Nick Niehaus since 2013 and an overall SAA record as well. Justin Lewis posted a pair of runner-up finishes with times of 15.38 in the 110m and 56.30 in the 400m. Corbin Ison finished sixth in the 400m hurdles, followed by Landon Binion in seventh.
 
Moving onto the field events, 2023 SAA high jump champion Michael Smith repeated as champion in 2024, winning with a clear of 6-3.25. Nick Whitlow finished fourth, followed by Hunter Foster in sixth and George Ferree in seventh, all clearing 5-10.75. In the triple jump, Philippe N'Dia posted a mark of 41-6.75 to take fourth place, with Wyatt Ostrander finishing sixth.
 
The Colonels picked up one more All-SAA nod in the throws as Erik Backstrom took third place in the javelin with a mark of 165-7.
 
FRIDAY RECAP
 
CONWAY, Ark. – Centre men's track & field kicked off the 2024 Southern Athletic Association Championships with the first of two day-long sessions from Hendrix. With 14 events left to score, the Colonels sit in second place.
 
Centre wrapped up their six scored events on Friday with 51 points, 72 points back of front-running Berry.
 
The standout event of the opening session for the Centre men was the pole vault as junior All-American Logan Isaacs broke his previous school record with a cleat of 16-7.25 to get the win. Alex Hibbens finished sixth in the event to give the Colonels a dozen total points for the pole vault.
 
In the hammer, Tyler Vaughn threw an even 137 feet to take home a fifth place finish.
 
The long jump was another good event for the Centre men as they tied Rhodes with 12 points on the board. Nick Whitlow took second place with a mark of 22-2.5, followed by Christian Billiter in sixth and Michael Smith in eighth.
 
In the 10k, senior Will Lovell took second place overall with a time of 31:54.64. Ike Synnestvedt finished in seventh place with a time of 33:29.25. The 3000m steeplechase saw Reeve VanDemark take second place with a time of 9:32.71, with only a meet record time topping the talented Centre sophomore.
 
ALL-SAA
 
All-SAA honors are given to those student-athletes who finish in the top three in their respective events. A running tally of Centre's All-SAA performers and their events based on their highest finishes will kept here during the conference championships.
 
FIRST TEAM
 
Dirk Gambrel (400m Hurdles, 4x400m Relay)
Jackson Heim (4x400m Relay)
Logan Isaacs (Pole Vault)
Corbin Ison (4x400m Relay)
Will Lovell (5k)
Gray Rahbany (4x400m Relay)
Michael Smith (High Jump)
 
SECOND TEAM
 
Beau Brown (100m, 4x100m Relay)
Dirk Gambrel (4x100m Relay)
Jackson Heim (4x100m Relay, 400m)
Justin Lewis (110m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles)
Will Lovell (10k)
Gray Rahbany (4x100m Relay)
Reeve VanDemark (3000m Steeplechase)
Nick Whitlow (Long Jump)
 
HONORABLE MENTION
 
Erik Backstrom (Javelin)
Beau Brown (200m)
Gray Rahbany (400m)

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video