VU Track and Field takes center stage against tough competition at PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams once again found themselves as one of the only two-year programs competing in a meet this weekend, heading to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the 2024 PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational hosted by the University of Louisville.

The Blazers were up against several NCAA Division I programs, including athletes from Purdue University, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Florida State University, Texas Tech University and host University of Louisville.

Tough competition aside, the Trailblazers again more than held their own highlighted by five top-10 event finishes.

The VU men’s track and field team was led by sprinter Desroy Jordan who took second place in the 400 meter seeded event, finishing with a time of 47.44 seconds.

Teammates Olamipo Ladipo and Zion Pruitt competed in the 400 meter unseeded event with Ladipo placing 12th with a time of 50.15 seconds and Pruitt finishing 28th at 52.62 seconds.

Those three then competed with Tumaini Skinner in the 4×400 meter relay to place eighth overall with a time of 3:16.58.

Skinner, on his own, took home 17th in the 60 meter dash at 7.24 seconds, while Cohen Gallant placed seventh in the 60 meters at 7.01 seconds.

Gallant then competed in the unseeded 200 meters and placed 26th at 23.50 seconds, while Clinton Laguerre finished 11th at 22.43 seconds.

The Trailblazers men’s distance runners held their own as well, led by Cody Noel and Caden Hostetler in the 5000 meters with Noel placing 15th at 15:54.30 and Hostetler ending at 16:16.49 good for 17th overall.

Tanner Spence and Nathan Whitehead were in the mile with Spence taking 35th at 4:36.76 and Whitehead ending at 4:52.12 for 40th overall.

Bryaun Manuel and Matthew Gray then finished out the men’s track side in the 800 meters with Manuel placing 38th at 2:04.70 and Gray finishing 44th overall at 2:11.56.

In the field events the VU men’s team was led by Jeremiah Ziebert who placed 22nd in the shot put with a throw of 12.32 meters.

Jacob Wickman placed 28th in the shot put at 10.94 meters and took home 27th in the weight throw with a throw of 12.62 meters.

Jacob Smith rounded out the VU throwers with a toss of 10.52 meters in the weight throw, good for 34th overall.

Another major highlight of the weekend for the Blazers was courtesy of Olegs Kozjakovs who took part in his first heptathlon of the year.

Kozjakovs finished sixth overall after accumulating 5,215 points, highlighted by third place finishes in the shot put and pole vault, a fourth place finish in the long jump and a fifth place finish in the high jump.

“We told our team we were going to put them on a big stage and boy did we,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “This meet had 25 schools, seven from Division I Power Five Conferences, as well as professional athletes that were working on qualifying marks and points for World Rankings.”

“I feel fortunate that we were allowed to compete as the only Junior College in one of the top ranked indoor meets in the country,” Rogier added. “Based on the results and the attention we received from several of the top programs, I think we represented VU very well.”