SALEM, VA. – The Lincoln Memorial track and field team may have only had 15 athletes competing in the Baste Cregger Invitational at Roanoke College, and those 15 athletes made their presence felt on the track. The team set three school records and won two separate events.

"This was probably one of our best season openers since I've been here," said Director of track and field Rochelle Black. "The team really outperformed my expectations."
 
Freshman Spencer Baldwin got his LMU track and field career off to a strong start, setting the new school record in the 500m run with a time of 1:08.62 to place 3^rd in the event. He then followed that up with a 1^st place finish in the 1000m race, finishing in 2:29.01.
 
Sam Peters followed that up with a school record setting performance in the 300m run, with a time of 35.98 en route to finishing 2^nd in the event. Noah Kontny was right behind Peters running the race in 37.15, as he placed 3^rd. Eric Biddinger gave the Raislplitters another top-10 finish in the event, coming in 9^th with a time of 38.37.
 
Junior Micah Sells rounded out the school records on Saturday afternoon as she ran a 9.16 in the 60m hurdles, which placed her 3^rd in the event. Elizabeth Close followed close behind Sells in the event, finishing 5^th in a personal best time of 9.36.

"Sam, Spencer, and Micah all did great, and we had a ton of personal bests throughout these two days," said Black.
 
Destiny Gibbs scored the second win of the weekend, as she won the 300m race in a time of 45.62. Gibbs also picked up another top-5 finish as she placed fourth in the 500m race, clocking in with a time of 1:24.69.
 
Grace Mathis and Lidija Djokic were right next to each other in both the 300m and 500m races. Mathis placed 7^th (44.19) in the 300m and finished 6^th (1:25.27) in the 500m. Djokic was right behind her in both events, finshing 8^th (45.62) in the 300m and placing 7^th (1:25.91) in the 500m in her Lady Railsplitter debut.
 
Senior Chris Buford earned another top-5 finish for LMU, as he claimed 4^th place in the 500m race, crossing the line in personal best time of 1:09.75. Buford also ran the 400m, claiming 14^th place in 53.48.
 
Kirsten Keith and Lillian Turley ran the 1 mile race as the made their track debut for the Lady Railsplitters. Keith finished in 22^nd (6:25.20), while Turley came in 26^th (6:41.30).
 
Jacey Grabeel ran the 1 mile on the men's side, crossing the line in 5:41.02 to place 31^st.
 
Lincoln Memorial only had two field athletes competing, with Nathan McBride doing the weight throw for the men, and Lauren Smith doing the weight throw for the women. McBride placed 18^th with a throw of 9.95m, while Smith placed 25^th on the women's side with throw of 10.30m.

"We still have a long season ahead of us, but if this is any indication of what's to come, we're definitely moving in the right direction," stated Black.
 
UP NEXT
The LMU indoor track and field programs will be back in action after returning from the holiday break, as they will head to East Tennessee State University for the ETSU Invitational on January 14-15th.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter and Lady Railsplitter track and field throughout the 2021-22 season.
 

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