ELON, N.C. – The Monmouth University Men's Track and Field Team leads the 2024 CAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships after one day of competition at the Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Complex at Elon University.
 
Four Hawks have won medals to contribute to Monmouth's meet-leading 55.5-point total, while the women's team sits in 12^th place with 5.5 points.

Jan Volkmar captured the only gold medal of the day for MU when he cleared the bar at 4.65m in the pole vault – a new PR and tied for the seventh best mark in school history. Connor Bennett has his second bronze medal of the year after a mark of 4.55m which earned him a tie for the final spot on the podium.

Zay Battle and Ahmad Brock each won a bronze medal during Friday's field events. Battle finished third in the hammer throw with a toss of 57.14m, while Brock shattered his previous personal best in the long jump with a leap of 7.49m. Brock now ranks fourth in program history, and Alexander Kislenko joined him on the Top Tens list with a 7.25m mark that ranks eighth and placed fourth at the event.
 
The Hawks qualified for 10 track finals to be held on Saturday. Yasmeen Tinsley will run in two finals after qualifying in both the 100m and 400m hurdles. Tinsley set a school record with a 13.74-second qualifying run in the 100m hurdles, and then followed that up with a time of 58.50 in the 400m hurdles. Meredith Updike will be joining her in the 400m hurdles final after finishing with a top-eight time of 1:04.18. Jordan Ricketts (52.98) and Matthew Iuvara (53.46) will run in the 400m hurdles on the men's side. Brock ran a 10.50 - the second-fastest time in school history - in the men's 100m and will go for a spot on another podium tomorrow afternoon.

Hannah Birdsall ran a 2:13.29 in the 800m to qualify, while Ian Moore also qualified on the men's side with a time of 1:52.87. In the men's 1500m, it will be Nico Grilli and Stone Caraccio representing the Hawks in the final. Grilli crossed the finish line at 3:55.18, while Caraccio ran 3:55.83.

Kat Gilbert highlighted some other big performances by the Hawks as she broke the program's freshman record with a time of 11.97 seconds in the women's 100m dash. Kislenko just missed out on qualifying for Saturday's final, but he jumps up to fourth all-time at Monmouth after setting a PR of 10.59 in the men's 100m. Madison Latimer also makes a new appearance in the Top Tens list following a new personal best time of 55.84 (tied-eighth) in the women's 400m.
 
David Strong currently leads the decathlon field with 3,796 points after setting meet records in the 100m and 400m, while Volkmar (3,585, second) and Dylan Bonser (3,380, fourth) each sit inside the top-five. Freshman Flavia Daniels, sixth place, currently ranks the highest amongst the Monmouth heptathletes with 2,596 points.
 
MEDAL WINNERS
Men's Pole Vault: Jan Volkmar – 4.65m, gold
Men's Pole Vault: Connor Bennett – 4.55m, bronze
Men's Hammer Throw: Zay Battle – 57.14m, bronze
Men's Long Jump: Ahmad Brock – 7.49m, bronze
 
QUALIFIERS
Men's 100m: Ahmad Brock – 10.50
Women's 100m Hurdles: Yasmeen Tinsley – 13.74
Women's 400m Hurdles: Yasmeen Tinsley – 58.50
Women's 400m Hurdles: Meredith Updike – 1:04.18
Men's 400m Hurdles: Jordan Ricketts – 52.98
Men's 400m Hurdles: Matthew Iuvara – 53.46
Women's 800m: Hannah Birdsall – 2:13.29
Men's 800m: Ian Moore – 1:52.87
Men's 1500m: Nico Grilli – 3:55.18
Men's 1500m: Stone Caraccio – 3:55.83
 
ALL-TIME TOP TENS
Women's 100m: Kat Gilbert – 11.97, tied-third, FRESHMAN RECORD
Men's 100m: Ahmad Brock – 10.50, second
Men's 100m: Alexander Kislenko – 10.59, fourth
Women's 100m Hurdles: Yasmeen Tinsley – 13.74, SCHOOL RECORD
Women's 400m: Madison Latimer – 55.84, tied-eighth
Men's Long Jump: Ahmad Brock – 7.49m, fourth
Men's Long Jump: Alexander Kislenko – 7.25m, eighth
Men's Pole Vault: Jan Volkmar – 4.65m, tied-seventh
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will begin Day Two of the CAA Championships on Saturday morning.