Taylor Men Finish Third at Little State

MARION, Ind. – The Taylor men concluded the second day of competition at the Little State Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan. On a warm and sunny spring Saturday, the Trojans took advantage of the prime-time weather and garnered two new NAIA National Qualifying Standards, three first-place victories and 10 top-five finishes. The Taylor men accumulated a total of 91 points and finished in third place as a team. Marian won the meet with 164 points and Indiana Wesleyan finished second with 99 points.

Matthew Sakeuh had a successful day as he tallied 25 points for the Trojans and took home two individual wins. Sakeuh qualified for NAIA Nationals in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.70. The senior's time is the sixth-fastest hurdle time in TU history. Sakeuh returned to the track for the 400-meters hurdles, collecting his second victory and recording a time of 55.04. Sammy Sommers grabbed fourth place in the 400-meter hurdles (57.38) and Braden Bixler finished in fifth (57.47). Sakeuh, Sommers and Bixler were part of TU's 4x100-meter relay team that also included Cole Whitehead and went on to place fourth with a time of 42.32.

Sammy Sommers claimed a runner-up finish in the long jump with a season-best leap of 7.13-meters.

The Trojan steeplechase crew had three runners place in the top-eight. Zach Hoekstra led the TU pack, finishing in first place with a time of 9:33.51. Jack Hammond and Quinn Rudy ended in seventh and eighth place respectively. Hammond clocked a time of 10:04.93, while Rudy finished in 10:15.49.

Liam Hesting had an impressive day in the discus throw. The junior launched a career-best toss of 52.24-meters and clinched the NAIA A-standard. Hesting finished in third place and moved to No. 2 all-time on the TU top-10 list. Hesting also added a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw, logging a mark of 53.72-meters.

Cole Whitehead cruised to a career-best 400-meter time of 49.57 and placed fourth overall.

In the middle-distance group, Ben Eiffert clocked a time of 4:07.66 in the 1,500-meters, finishing in ninth place. Nate Conkel logged a solid time of 1:55.61 in the 800-meters, claiming 12th overall.

The Trojans will now turn their attention to the Crossroads League Championships on May 5 and 6.