CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Throughout the 2025 season to date, Alan Austin's determination to reach new heights as a thrower has clearly shown.

That was certainly evident Saturday at the Yellow Jacket Collegiate Open -- as Austin's new personal best, school record and meet-winning throw of 171 feet, five inches, or 52.26 meters in the discus resulted in a NAIA National 'A' Standard in the event, marking the third consecutive NAIA National Standard performance for Austin in as many meets to begin the outdoor season as part of a strong effort for the entire men's track and field program at the Yellow Jacket Collegiate Invite, which was held Saturday in Cedarville, Ohio.

Austin, who posted a 162-foot, nine-inch throw and then a 167-foot, 11-inch toss in the first two meets of the season to break his own school record in the discus at the Cumberlands (Ky.) Early Spring Meet and the Charlotte (N.C.) 49er Classic, improved on his personal best and school record by three-and-a-half feet and over a full meter in the event. Austin won his event by two feet, four inches and was one of only three discus competitors in the 55-participant field to break 50 meters in the event.

"Alan had a great day, getting the win at a large meet and earning the 'A' Standard," Shawnee State Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "He continues to impress, and I know he will use the next two months to his advantage."

Along with Austin's efforts, Trevor Lanoy also enjoyed an outstanding effort himself, clicking off a third-place time of 1:56.01 in the 800 meter run out of the 85 athletes competing in the event, all while coming within four seconds of a NAIA National 'B' Standard time, and field athlete Eli Adkins added in another consistent high jumping performance that placed Adkins in a tie for second among the 17 competitors that officially recorded a high jump, clearing six feet, four-and-three-quarters inches in the event.

Following the duo, the 100 and 200 meter dash runners shined as well.

In the 100 meter dash, Davin Heckard and Garrett McKinniss each set personal bests en route to 20th and 23rd place finishes in a field of 75 competitors as the duo posted times of 10.88 and 10.90 en route to nabbing strong times in the event, while Bailey White, Desean Garred and Cameron Cannon also set PBs in their 47th, 50th and 58th place runs of 11.29, 11.40 and 11.57, respectively.

Heckard bettered his previous personal best by nearly a half-second in the 100, McKinniss cleared his previous PB by over three-tenths of a second, White ran over two-and-a-half tenths of a second faster, Garred posted a mark that was exactly two-and-a-half tenths of a second better and Cannon also placed in the top-60 as the 100 meter dash group all showcased exceptionally promising tools in Cedarville.

With the 200 meter dash, the quintet shined again as McKinniss ran over four-tenths of a second faster in the 200 (22.57) to finish 38th while Heckard ran seven one-hundredths of a second better than his previous PB to finish 45th (22.72). White, who posted a 22.79, ran 1.6 seconds faster than his previous best to place 49th while Cannon ran eight-and-a-half tenths faster to collect a 24.15.

"The 100 and 200 meter dash groups had a phenomenal day," Flynn said. "Everything was clicking and nearly all the athletes in those two events, saw a new PB. Trevor Lanoy also ran well placing third overall in the 800m, while also being a part of the school record 4-by-400 relay team."

All five of the above runners are freshman in their first season of track and field competition with Shawnee State.

In addition to the stout efforts of the above competitors, three runners in the 1,500 meter run set personal bests -- as Jacob Naumovski (62nd, 4:26.88), Luke Butler (66th, 4:31.06) and Connor Blagg (71st, 4:34.91) all set personal best times. Naumovski ran nearly 13 seconds faster than his previous personal best while Butler collected a time that beat his previous personal best of 4:31.08. Blagg added in a time that was over 12 seconds faster than his previous personal best in the event as well.

Between those three personal bests in the 1,500, Aidan Judd (55th, 4:24.61) and Rowen Lloyd (69th, 4:32.91) also posted competitive 1,500 meter run marks, Matthew Rauch set a personal best of 16.21 in the 110 meter hurdles, and the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 meter relay units capped off the day by combining to score eight points with the 4-by-400 meter relay grouping of McKinniss, Trevor Lanoy, Kaiden Lanoy and Cody Hesler combining to run a 3:28.61 to set a new school record in the latter relay event.