RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The men's track and field program at Shawnee State has always been elite at distance running.
Over the past year and change, however, it's clear that the program is also well on its way to establishing an elite tradition in sprinting and field events, as well.
Shawnee State field athletes Alan Austin and Luke Rader are the best examples of this fact, as Austin threw a meet-winning discus throw that ultimately was another NAIA National 'B' Standard, while Rader won the triple jump by over half-a-meter en route to leading a 123-point outing over both days of the meet as the Bears tied for second place overall at the River States Conference Championship Meet, which was held at The Stockmeister Track and Field at the University of Rio Grande.
Austin, who dominated the proceedings of the discus throw, would've won the discus on three separate throws -- but even so, still went big, simply getting better as the discus event wore on. The sophomore's sixth and final throw of the event ultimately amounted to a 164-foot, five-inch toss, allowing Austin to win the event by nearly 15 full feet over second place finish Rowan Gerlach of Rio Grande, who is a talented thrower in his own right.
Rader, who is just as elite of a jumper as Austin is a thrower, took care of business in the triple jump as the only athlete in a 15-competitor event to clear 13 meters in the triple. Rader's mark was over one foot and nine-and-a-quarter inches better than that of the second-place finisher in the event.
In the 110 meter hurdles, Rader was also elite, placing third in the 110 with a time of 15.50 to stand on the podium for the second time on Saturday alone. Rader concluded another fantastic championship week with a fifth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles, posting a time of 58.15 in the event to collect 20 points on his own on the day in individual events.
Along with the pair's performances, Matthew Rauch and Isaiah Lanoy each earned podium and Third-Team All-RSC performances as well, with Rauch, who posted a 57.84, setting a personal best and breaking his own school record in the 400 meter hurdles and Lanoy clicking off a 4:03.01 in the 1,500 meter run to add to another strong points day for the Bears.
Shawnee State posted two additional top-five finishes in Saturday's events -- with Garrett McKinniss placing fifth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.99 and the 4-by-100 meter relay grouping of Davin Heckard, McKinniss, Rader and Bailey White finishing fourth with a 44.05.
Heckard and McKinniss also added in two sixth-place finishes with Heckard running a 11.09 in the 100 meter dash and McKinniss posting a 22.66 in the 200 meter dash, while Kaiden Lanoy's 15:32.57 in the 5,000 meter run put the distance running talent seventh. Rauch posted a 16.08 in the 110 meter hurdles to claim eighth, and Cody Hesler also chipped in one point with Hesler's 51.16 in the 400 meter dash rounding out the individual efforts. Hesler, McKinniss, Isaiah Lanoy and Trevor Lanoy closed the books from a point perspective by placing seventh in the 4-by-400 meter relay.
"We are pleased to have finished as the RSC Runner-Up, especially with the number of points we left on the track," Shawnee State Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "Athletes like Alan, Luke, and Isaiah making their way onto the podium in multiple events allows us to always be in contention. I'm excited for the development of this program. We have a young team on both sides and continue to grow in different areas. Sending athletes to nationals in multiple event groups is special and shows the growth of the program."
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Shawnee State turns its focus to the Jesse Owens Classic next weekend, which will be held on The Ohio State University campus in Columbus.
