RICHMOND, VA (March 17, 2018)- The Virginia State University Trojans without a doubt are setting the bar high for the 2018 men's outdoor track and field season. To jump start their campaign, the Trojans competed in the VCU Ram Invite on March 16-17.

BASICS
EVENT: 2018 VCU Ram Invite
NUMBER OF TEAMS TO COMPETE: 6
# OF VSU TOP 5 FINISHES: 26

TRACK EVENTS
The Trojans grasped 4 first place finishes on the track during their season opener. Indoor All-American Allen Blair secured the No. 1 spot in the men's 100m and 200m with a time of 11.03 and 21.70 respectively. Crossing the finish line with a first place 400m hurdle time of 57.98 was Jahvante Marcelle. The quartet of Allen Blair, Keith Barbour, Stephen Anderson and Steven Murdock came around the stretch with a first place 4x100 time of 41.55.

Securing the 200m and 400m second place spots was Steven Murdock with a time of 21.78 and 49.90. Lamonte Allen made his way across the finish line with a 400m hurdle second place time of 58.57. Working together for a second place 4x400 time of 3:17.66 were Steven Murdock, Allen Blair, Milton Coleman-Sledge and Tyron Evans.

VSU took over the 110m hurdle event taking the second thru fifth place finishes. Jahvante Marcelle (15.38), Antoine Sanders (16.25), Alijah Benymon (16.52), and Justin Walls (16.77) all made their names known during this event.

Also contributing to the Trojans high marks on the track were Milton Coleman-Sledge with a third place 400m time of 50.39 and Charles Salley with a 3000m third place time of 11:18.24. Davonne Douglas was not too far behind in the 3000m relay with fourth place time of 12:59.12.
 
FIELD EVENTS
Dajawn Williams jumped in to claim his first place spot in the high jump event with a leap of 6'4.75". Also securing a top finish in their event was Emmanuel Oguntoye with a triple jump range of 47' 5.25".
 
Holding firm to their second place finishes were Stephen Anderson with a long jump measure of 21'11.5, Treshawn Jones with a triple jump range of 42'5.25", and Dajawn Williams with a pole vault range of 10'10".
In the throw events, Brandon Slade claimed the third place spots in the shot put event (46'6.25") and the discus event (140'2").

Dajawn Williams and Malik Rush had a fourth and fifth place finish in the javelin event with a measure of 134'0" and 107'7" respectively. Emmanuel Oguntoye and Keith Barbour rounded out the Trojans top 5 finishes with a fourth and fifth place finish in the men's long jump with a measure of 21'0.75" and 21'0".
 
THE SEASON
Under the leadership of head coach Wilbert Johnson, the Trojans have a gauge on how they can improve and prepare for the upcoming 2018 CIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 5-6 in Bowie, MD.
 
UP NEXT
The VSU Trojans will travel to Lynchburg, VA on March 23-24 to compete in the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational, hosted by Liberty University.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU men's outdoor track and field please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.