Harber, Stayte Claim Victories to Pace Trojans on Final Day of CL Championships
MARION, Ind. – The Taylor men's track and field team wrapped up competition at the Crossroads League Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, in which Luke Harber and Jared Stayte paced the squad with victories, while Braden Bixler added an NAIA B standard showing in the 400-meter hurdles.
TU finished sixth out of 10 teams in the league meet with 64 points – two points off of Spring Arbor's fifth-place showing – as Marian took home the CL title with 294 points.
Stayte started the Trojans' day with a bang by crushing his personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to a championship-winning, B standard time of 9:17.54.
Also earning B standard was Bixler, who had a personal-record finish of his own at 53.80 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to take the third position on the podium.
Spencer Stout also earned a point for TU in the 400-meter hurdles, though the freshman really shined by taking home third place in the 110-meter hurdles finals, improving on his Thursday time by crossing in 14.84 seconds.
Max Lambert got on the board with a seventh-place showing in the hammer throw with a mark of 43.67 meters, easily good enough for his PR and TU's best distance of the season.
Isaac Elkin grabbed eighth place in the triple jump to add to TU's total, while Bradley Braxton, Bixler, Lextin Willis and Dean Moshier notched the Trojans three points with a 4x400-meter relay finish of 3:24.06.
Near the end of Friday's competition, Taylor boosted its score by 18 points in the 5,000-meters when Harber won the event by crossing the finish line in 14:45.22. Ryan Hanak and Jordan Burden weren't too far behind, snatching fourth and sixth place, respectively.
The Trojans are set to compete in a Last Chance Meet May 8-9 as preparations ramp up for the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Indiana, slated to run May 21-23.