Yellow Jackets open Indoor Track & Field season at home

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College track and field programs kicked off their indoor seasons with the Purple and Gold Alumni Open at the George M. Smart Center on Friday.

Hosting Goshen College and a number of unattached athletes in the open, the Yellow Jackets put together an impressive day with several event wins. Leading the day's headlines was Xavier Wilson breaking program records in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. Wilson ran a 6.82 in the 60 to beat the previous record by Darius Spinks of 6.90 in 2015, and also broke Spinks' 22.32 time in the 200 meters with a race of 22.10. The DC men's team also had event wins by the 4x200 team and freshman Jesse Brown in the high jump at 1.95 meters.

On the women's side Rakel Thompson, Mira Horvath and Adeline Niyonkunda captured event wins in the 60, 200 and 5000 meters. The women's 4x200-meter relay team also captured a win unopposed. 

Multiple athletes on each team set personal bests. J'Vontae Barnes set PRs in the 60 and 200 meters along with Marcus Snell in the 60 and Jake Stephens' run of the mile. Women's PRs were set by Zawadi Debola running the 600 meters and Lynsey Pease in the weight throw.

MEN'S TRACK RESULTS

• 60 Meters: Xavier Wilson, 6.82 (1st), J'Vontae Barnes, 7.13 (2nd), Marcus Snell, 7.21 (3rd), Kaiden Taylor, 7.39 (4th), Dalen Selmon, 7.53 (5th), Ian Westmeyer, 7.54 (6th), Zyon Woods, 7.55 (7th)
• 200 Meters: Xavier Wilson, 22.10 (1st), J'Vontae Barnes, 22.90 (2nd), Jajuan Hall, 24.20 (4th), Kaiden Taylor, 24.25 (5th), Ian Westmeyer, 24.25 (6th), Miles Inman, 25.55 (8th)
• Mile: Jake Stephens, 5:34.54 (3rd)
• 3000 Meters: Brenden Patterson, 10:50.98 (2nd)
• 5000 Meters: Jake Stephens, 19:16.56 (3rd) - PR, Brenden Patterson, 19:42.12 (4th)
• 4x200 Relay: Selmon/Inman/Woods/Hall, 1:34.08 (1st), Snell/Westmeyer/Martin/Mance, 1:36.52 (2nd)

MEN'S FIELD RESULTS

• High Jump: Jesse Brown, 1.95m (1st), Esau Pressley, 1.75m (3rd), Dalen Martin, 1.75m (4th)
• Long Jump: Dalen Selmon, 5.94m (2nd), Dalen Martin, 5.64m (3rd), Jesse Brown, 5.50m (4th), Esau Pressley, 5.44m (5th)

WOMEN'S TRACK RESULTS

• 60 Meters: Rakel Thompson, 8.24 (1st), Nerisa Mukwe, 8.39 (2nd), Mira Horvath, 8.71 (3rd), Shelby Clements, 8.84 (4th)
• 200 Meters: Mira Horvath, 27.44 (1st), Rakel Thompson, 27.64 (2nd), Nerisa Mukwe, 28.32 (3rd), Shelby Clements, 29.88 (4th)
• 400 Meters: Israa Khamis, 1:08.76 (2nd)
• 600 Meters: Zawadi Debola, 1:56.90 (3rd), Adeline Niyonkunda, 1:59.31 (4th)
• Mile: Adeline Niyonkunda, 6:06.82 (3rd), Zawadi Debola, 7:18.09 (5th)
• 5000 Meters: Adeline Niyonkunda, 20:54.62 (1st)
• 4x200 Relay: Horvath/Mukwe/Debola/Thompason, 1:53.67 (1st)

WOMEN'S FIELD RESULTS

• Shot Put: Kanaya Keister, 9.70m (2nd), Lynsey Pease, 8.43m (5th), Chloe DeBoer, 7.96m (6th)
• Weight Throw: Kanaya Keiser, 9.21m (4th), Chloe DeBoer, 9.10m (5th), Lynsey Pease, 6.65m (7th)

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets track and field programs are back in action on Jan. 16 when they host the Dick Small Invitational, beginning at 3 p.m. inside the George M. Smart Center.

-JACKETS-