WOOSTER, Ohio (January 21, 2023) – The Denison University men's track & field team posted six first-place finishes on its way to a first-place finish as a team at the 2023 Fighting Scots Invitational, hosted on Saturday by the College of Wooster. Totaling 177 team points on the day, the Big Red finished ahead of Wooster in second place with 115.50 points.

For the second week in a row to open the Spring season, sophomore Chris Slater earned the win in both the weight throw (16.89 meters) and the shot put (14.03 meters). Slater's mark in the weight throw was also good for a new indoor school record in the event, beating out the previous record of 16.56 meters set by Bryce Stricker on February 15, 2020.

Behind Slater in the weight throw was Gabe Springer (13.88 meters) and Owen Mathes (12.32 meters) in third and fifth place, respectively, as Denison took a 73-60.50 lead over Wooster after six events.

The Big Red put four throwers in the top-five of the shot put as behind Slater was Collin Hill (13.92 meters) in second, Mathes (13.21 meters) in third and Springer (12.57 meters) in fifth.

In the triple jump, Dagne Auditore (12.35 meters) picked up the first win of his college career while Charles Thompson (11.04 meters) was fourth to help Denison establish a 136-84.50 over Wooster after 10 events.

Denison received three point-scorers in both the high jump and the long jump to help move the Big Red into first place (48-21 over Oberlin and Wooster tied for second place) after three events. In the high jump, Liam Quinlan (1.89 meters) finished third while Thompson and Jacob Brown finished in sixth and eighth place, respectively, despite actually finishing in a four-person tie at 1.74 meters. Meanwhile, in the long jump, Angelo Ricci (6.39 meters) finished fourth while Jack Blais (6.25 meters) was right behind him in fifth and Hilton Sanchez (6.06 meters) was eighth.

Additionally, Jason Spino finished fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.65 meters.

On the track, Denison earned a win in the 4x200 relay as Malik Holley, Nathan Hydukovich, Grant Plasch and Quinlan worked together to finish with a time of 1:32.94, beating out Kenyon College at 1:33.70.

The Big Red then had five of the top-eight finishers in the one mile run, including the winner with a time of 4:30.93, Noah Cyr. Cyr was followed by Oliver DiCerbo (4:32.93) in third, Joshua Lamb (4:41.28) in fifth, Ian Harrington (4:48.18) in seventh and Declan Toomey (4:49.22) in eighth.

Denison then made it three wins in a row on the track as Ari Skolnik (8.54 seconds) picked up a victory in the 60 meter hurdles for the second week in a row.

Malik Holley then finished in second place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.34 seconds before Jaylin Epps (7.18 seconds) and Skolnik (7.19 seconds) finished back-to-back in third and fourth place, respectively, in the 60 meter dash. After that, Denison's lead increased to 155-99.50 over Wooster after 12 events.

The Big Red lead continued to rise as Calvin Bailey took third place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:03.66, followed by finishes of fourth and sixth place in the 200 meter dash by Hydukovich (23.68 seconds) and Epps (23.92 seconds), respectively.

Denison then finished off the night with a second-place finish and a time of 3:35.79 in the 4x400 meter relay, featuring Hydukovich, Brown, Bailey and Cyr.
 
EVENT WINNERS:

• Dagne Auditore – triple jump – 12.35 meters (40-06.25)
• Chris Slater – weight throw – 16.89 meters (55-05.00)
• Chris Slater – shot put – 14.03 meters (46-00.50)
• Noah Cyr – one mile run – 4:30.93
• Ari Skolnik – 60 meter hurdles – 8.54 seconds
• 4x200 meter relay "A" team – 1:32.94 (Malik Holley, Nathan Hydukovich, Grant Plasch, Liam Quinlan)

 
TOP-10 FINISHES:

• 4x400 meter relay "A" team – second place – 3:35.79 (Nathan Hydukovich, Jacob Brown, Calvin Bailey, Noah Cyr)
• Collin Hill – second place in the shot put – 13.92 meters (45-08.00)
• Malik Holley – second place in the 400 meter dash – 52.34 seconds
• Liam Quinlan – third place in the high jump – 1.89 meters (6-02.25)
• Gabe Springer – third place in the weight throw – 13.88 meters (45-06.50)
• Owen Mathes – third place in the shot put – 13.21 meters (43-04.25)
• Oliver DiCerbo – third place in the one mile run – 4:32.93
• Jaylin Epps – third place in the 60 meter dash – 7.18 seconds
• Calvin Bailey – third place in the 800 meter run – 2:03.66
• Jason Spino – fourth place in the pole vault – 3.65 meters (11-11.75)
• Angelo Ricci – fourth place in the long jump – 6.39 meters (20-11.75)
• Charles Thompson – fourth place in the triple jump – 11.04 meters (36-02.75)
• Jacob Brown – fourth place in the 60 meter hurdles – 9.04 seconds
• Ari Skolnik – fourth place in the 60 meter dash – 7.19 seconds
• Nathan Hydukovich – fourth place in the 200 meter dash – 23.68 seconds
• Jack Blais – fifth place in the long jump – 6.25 meters (20-06.25)
• Owen Mathes – fifth place in the weight throw – 12.32 meters (40-05.00)
• Gabe Springer – fifth place in the shot put – 12.57 meters (41-03.00)
• Joshua Lamb – fifth place in the one mile run – 4:41.28
• Charles Thompson – sixth place in the high jump – 1.74 meters (5-08.50)
• Jaylin Epps – sixth place in the 200 meter dash – 23.92 seconds
• Ian Harrington – seventh place in the one mile run – 4:48.18
• Jacob Brown – eighth place in the high jump – 1.74 meters (5-08.50)
• Hilton Sanchez – eighth place in the long jump – 6.06 meters (19-10.75)
• Declan Toomey – eighth place in the one mile run – 4:49.22
• Dagne Auditore – 10th place in the high jump – 1.69 meters (5-06.50)

 
NEXT UP: The Big Red will return to Wooster next Thursday, January 26, when they compete in a traditional dual meet with the Fighting Scots.
 
Fighting Scots Invitational Results