De Jong Dominates at the Little State Championships

MARION, Ind. – The Trojans had a solid start to the Little State Championships as they opened up the first day of competition at Indiana Wesleyan. The Taylor men competed in four events on Friday evening, and were led by senior javelin thrower Mitch De Jong who collected TU's sole victory of the night.

De Jong launched the javelin 60.10-meters to claim first place out of 37 throwers. Fellow thrower Liam Hesting added a sixth-place finish in the shot put. Hesting recorded a mark of 15.51-meters.

On the track, TU's 4x800-meter relay team of Nate Conkel, Nathan Brainer, James Bates and Colton White cruised to a time of 7:57.46. The squad ended sixth overall. Josh Harden capped off the running events with a 10,000-meter outing. The junior logged a time of 33:16.27 and finished in fifth place.

After five scored events, the Trojans sit in fifth place in the team standings with a total of 20 points. The Taylor men will return to the track tomorrow, as they wrap up the action at the Little State Championships. Field and running events are set to begin at 11:00 am.