ALMA, Mich. – The Trine University Men's Track and Field team finished day one of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships in first place with 96 total points. The Thunder set six new program top-10 marks, Ethan Spahr won two events to lead Trine.
 
Spahr, who claimed the MIAA decathlon title last week, added wins in the pole vault and long jump. He started in the vault with a new personal best of 4.60 meters/15' 1" and moved to #4 all-time while defending his title from indoor season in the event. In the long jump pit, a leap of 6.93 meters/22' 9" took the win and again, he defended his indoor title.
 
Also in the pole vault were Matthew Schaefer, Morgan Johnson, and Blake Lude. The trio joined Spahr for a 1-3-4-6 finish. Schaefer set a personal best of 4.16 meters/13' 7.75" for third, Johnson was fourth with a jump of 4.06 meters/13' 3.75" and Lude took sixth, clearing 3.91 meters/12' 10".
 
Johnson teamed up with Spahr and Zion Jackson in the long jump, finishing 1-2-8. Jackson was second with a leap of 6.81 meters/22' 4.25" and Johnson was eighth, covering 6.23 meters/20' 5.25".
 
In the hammer throw, Dillon Dennison launched himself up to #5 in Trine history with a toss of 53.59 meters/175' 10" and finished second. AJ Henderson heaved a personal best of 47.58 meters/156' 1" for sixth and Tracy Stookey was seventh with a toss of 47.40 meters/155' 6".
 
Day one featured a handful of running finals as well. Trine set three new top-10 marks in the 10,000-meter run. Max Van Huis took second in 31:26.81, moving to #5 all-time. Joseph Packard was fourth in 31:34.54, Blake Overmyer was seventh and now checks in at #7 on the top-10 list after finishing in 31:45.37. Robert Lohman crossed sixth and now owns the #10 spot with a time of 32:00.29.
 
Tanner McMain set seventh best time in program history with a 9:49.75 performance in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He placed fifth.
 
The preliminary rounds of events 800 meters or less took up the bulk of the action on the track on Thursday. Trine had eight athletes qualify for tomorrow's finals.
 
In the 100-meter dash, Braden Estep, Zion Jackson, and Jayjouir Roberts qualified. Estep and Jackson also qualified in the 200 dash. Jackson set the #4 all-time mark in 21.76 seconds. He also posted the top time in the 110-meter hurdles.
 
Philip Nemecek and Tyler Hartleroad will race in tomorrow's 800-meter run final.
 
Trine seeks their 11^th consecutive MIAA crown and fifth consecutive outdoor crown. They lead Calvin 96-78 in the points standings.