KINGSVILLE, Texas - A pair of All-American performances from seniors Davis Bowers and Tristen Durr opened the 2019 DII Outdoor Championships for Tiffin track and field on day one.
Only four events have been completed thus far, with the Dragons in 19th with 3.5 points. Tiffin has plenty of time to move up the standings though with multiple athletes still to compete over the next two days.
Bowers competed in TU's first event of the day, the pole vault, and was able to clear his first three heights with just one miss. High winds caused trouble for all competitors, though, and Bowers was unable to get over 5.17 meters, finishing in a tie for sixth-place with a mark of 5.07 meters. The All-American finish is the third of his career, joining a third-place finish at 2018 Indoors and a seventh-place finish earlier this year at 2019 Indoors.
Durr captured the first All-American recognition of his TU career, placing eighth in the hammer with a throw of 60.74 meters. He also qualified for the indoor meet in the weight throw earlier this season. After a foul on his first attempt and a short toss on attempt two, Durr stepped up big with a powerful throw in his third attempt to advance to the top-nine final. That toss proved to be his final top mark, still good enough for All-American honors.
Fellow senior thrower Toryko Grace also competed in the hammer, finishing 15th with a mark of 57.58 meters. Freshman Quincy Scott took part in the only other event that was a final for Tiffin on Thursday, finishing 20th in the long jump with a mark of 6.77 meters.
In preliminary action, the 4x100 squad (Tajarie Arthurton, Jonte Baker, Zion Cross, Elijah Gauldin) qualified for the final with a time of 40.96. The mark was good enough for the eighth and final spot in the main event on Saturday, ensuring All-American honors, as the Dragons will look to improve on that time in the final.
Jonte Baker also ran in the 100m prelims to wrap up Tiffin's events on the day, putting forth a great performance to easily qualify for Saturday's final. The junior's time of 10.22 seconds was the second-best mark in the prelims, and just .02 seconds behind his career-best.
The men will compete in three events tomorrow, with Eric Jackson in the discus, Lamar Hargrove in the 200m prelims, and Errik Snell in the 110m Hurdles prelims.