Roth Highlights TU's Showing at GVSU Open
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Josh Roth raced to victory in the 5,000-meters with a brilliant run, posting one of eight top-10 efforts for Taylor at the Grand Valley State Open on Friday.
In addition to the top-10 showings, Taylor notched three NAIA standards, as Roth posted an A mark in the 5,000-meters, with Hunter Smith and Caleb Anthony collecting B marks in their respective events.
The Trojans' best showing came in the 5,000-meters, on the performances of Roth and Smith, who finished in first and fourth. Roth's time of 14:50.71 was one second off the TU record and was good for the second-fastest time in the NAIA this season entering the weekend. Smith finished at 15:10.15 to provisionally qualify for NAIA Nationals.
Anthony ripped a time of 8.33 to claim second in the 60-meter hurdles and provisionally qualified for Nationals, while Lewis and Byrd took 10th in the 800-meters and mile run with marks of 1:56.31 and 4:21.33.
Other top efforts included Jon DeHaan taking fourth in the pole vault, Drew LeFever claiming eighth in the shot put and the team of Anthony, Darryl Robinson, Isaac Cornfield and Tyler Clibon taking sixth in the 4x400-meter relay.
As a team, Taylor finished sixth in the 12-team field that consisted of a mix of NCAA Division I, II and III squads and multiple NAIA programs.
TU will return to action on February 2 at the Indiana Wesleyan Invite, before hosting the 2019 Crossroads League Indoor Championships on February 8 and 9.
