Track and Field Starts Strong at Spartan Invite

EAST LANSING, Mich. – On the opening day of the Spartan Invite, the Michigan State track and field program saw multiple personal records set in the pole vault in Jenison Field House and a trio of top-5 finishes at Munn Field on Friday afternoon.

Hosting its first home meet since 2019, the Green and White kicked things off with the women's pole vault invitational. Due to inclement weather the competition moved inside to Jenison Field House, where Sophia Franklin was the top collegiate vaulter after clearing the 4.32m bar on her first attempt, and came close to resetting the school record when she made three attempts at 4.42m, but faulted on each. Along with Franklin, Calli Ostapowicz had an impressive day, as she successfully vaulted on her third try at 4.02m, setting a new PR and putting her fifth overall in the event.

The men's pole vault competition featured Michael Davenport placing second after hitting his third attempt at 4.76m, giving him a new personal outdoor record, while Breanne Black competed unattached in the women's pole vault open, finishing ninth in her first collegiate meet with a 3.12m vault.

Over at Munn Field, Valadian Pallett opened the day by placing 14th in the women's hammer throw, posting a top toss of 43.57m, while Joshua DeVries launched a top throw of 59.35m on his second attempt to earn fourth place in the men's hammer and unattached freshman Brendan Vander Meer had a best toss of 38.68m in the same event.

The day wrapped up with the javelin throws, as Pallett notched a top distance on 34.45m to place fifth, followed by Cam Luyckx in 14th place at 22.64m and Avery Budz in 21st with a 16.93m throw in their first collegiate javelin competition. On the men's side, unattached freshman Dylan Terryberry finished in second place after throwing the javelin 54.49m on his sixth and final attempt.

"I thought, given the weather conditions, we handled today well," said throws coach Zachery Ball. "I'm really proud of Josh coming out and throwing a personal best today. He competed extremely well and that's a great start to his campaign. It allowed him to gain a ton of confidence moving forward for the rest of the season. It was also great to see Dylan throwing come out in his first javelin meet and throwing a very nice mark, especially as a multi. He has a really bright future ahead of him."

The second day of the Spartan Invite begins on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the discus throws at Munn Field, while running events start at 10:45 a.m. at Ralph Young Field. The high jump and long jump competitions will begin at noon inside Jenison Field House.

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Players Mentioned

Breanne Black

Avery Budz

Michael Davenport

Joshua DeVries

Sophia Franklin

Cam Luyckx

Calli Ostapowicz

Valadian Pallett

Dylan Terryberry