SALEM, Va – Blake Rimmer topped his performance from last week to win 1^st place in Men's pole vault for CIU as the Rams competed in the Finn Pincus Invitational at Roanoke College in Virginia. Like last week, the field consisted of a strong mix of NCAA Division II & III schools, along with several other familiar Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) competitors in Bluefield (Va,) and cross-town rival Columbia (S.C.).

On the track, the Rams competed well in the distance events, led by a group of freshmen and sophomores. Spencer Evans competed in the 1000m and placed 10^th (2:59.90), while in the 5000m, Gavin Barfield, Josh Zhang, and Joel Baumgarten ran times of 16:59.75, 17:36.61, and 18:13.49, respectively. Barfield and Evans also competed in the one-mile run, which saw a Barfield time of 4:52.55 and Spencer with a time of  4:58.34
CIU's sprints squad saw a strong showing from senior Ethan Robinson had a solid finish with a 23.99 in the 200m, good for 26^th place. Clayton Hammond (400m), Irvin Sumter (60m & 400m), Phillip Fraizer (60m), Ethan Robinson (60m & 200m), and Jacob Osmanski (400m) all qualified for NCCAA Nationals in their respective events. 
 
Leading the way for field events was Blake Rimmer in pole vault with a season-best effort at 4.50m, giving him the top mark in the AAC standings. Deandre Leith placed second in the shot put with a 16.01m throw and followed up with a 13.48m performance in the weight throw. Dizayuh Hinton, Colton Buchanan, and Jacob Osmanski all competed and qualified for NCCAA nationals in the shot put. Philip Frazier also qualified for NCAA's in the long jump.
 
What Coach Tim Thompson is saying: "I'm pleased with the progress this week. Our program continues to grow and mature. Instead of letting frustrations dictate the outcome, we continue to put our trust in God and stay focused. Our athletes are competing with a renewed confidence. As a result, we are achieving greatness every time we see the track. I'm fired up!". 
 
Next Up: CIU Returns to Virginia on Feb. 4 to compete in the Liberty Open, hosted by Liberty University (Va.).