COLUMBUS, Ga. – The GRU Augusta men's outdoor track and field team took second place at the Cougar Invitational, hosted by Columbus State, on Saturday and beat three other Peach Belt Conference schools.
Tuskegee won the meet, while GRU was a close second in front of Clayton State, Columbus State, Morehouse, Montevallo, and Clark Atlanta. The Jags had three first-place finishes and numerous top five and top-10 places, while breaking six personal records.
The distance runners performed well, highlighted by Dustin Ross setting two personal records in the 800 and 1500 meter run. Ross blew away the competition in the 800 meter run and took first in 1:53.99 – six seconds faster than second place. Ross also won the 3000 meter race, while Nick Del Guercio came in three seconds later for second place. In the 1500 meter, Ross' cross country teammate Caleb Watson notched fifth in a time of 4:09.63.
Allen Eckles and Christian Collier snagged top-10 finishes in the 100 meter dash, while Eckles earned fifth and Collier eighth. Eckles wasn't through and took fifth in the 200 meter dash in 22.68 and Ryan White and Andrew Folk took 12th and 13th back-to-back.
GRU's Justin Harrison placed second in the 400 meter hurdles – setting a new personal best with a time of 58.08. Taylor Coxwell carded third in the 110 hurdles, posting a new a personal record in the 110 hurdles and in the javelin throw with a toss of 45.42m. Coxwell was inches away from the first place mark in the javelin.
Sean Michael-Rand's new personal best in the high jump, gave him a first-place finish with a jump of 1.95m.
The Jags compete at the Lion/Jaguar Invite in Augusta, Ga., on Saturday, March 7.
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