LEXINGTON, Va. -- After more than three months of indoor competition, the Denison men's track and field team opened their 2018 outdoor season on Friday in Lexington, Va. at the Washington & Lee Carnival meet.

The two-day event began with a bang for the Big Red, capturing three personal records and six top-10 finishes on the first day of action. Leading the finishes was junior David Carter who won the men's long jump event with a leap of 21'6" (6.55 meters). Jake Coplin trailed in sixth place with a 20'5.25" (6.23 meters) and freshman Dee Brown's 19'6.25" landed him in 13th.

In the hammer throw, sophomore Bryce Stricker broke his previous school record by 10 inches with a toss of 149'10" (45.66 meters), finishing in fifth place. First-year Austin Burgess posted a distance of 100'5.75" (30.62 meters) to finish 15th.

The field event success continued for DU when Ryan Fleming reached a height of 5'10.50" (1.79 meters) in the high jump, placing ninth overall. Sophomore James Dixie tallied a PR jump of 5'8.50" (1.74 meters) to finish in 17th.

On the track, the Big Red were led by Ben Foster's 4:11.18 in the 1,500-meter run, placing him sixth overall in the event. Foster then joined Jack Ruddy, Kenny Connelly and Dixie in the 4X400 meter relay where they finished in 13th with a time of 3:40.90.

Denison also received a top-10 finish in the 10,000-meter run when sophomore Clayton Watters posted a new personal best time of 33:26.07 to finish in ninth.

The Big Red will return to Lexington on Saturday, March 17 for day two of the W&L Carnival.