ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Men's Track and Field team has been patiently waiting for the Minnesota spring weather to cooperate and allow them to begin their 2024 outdoor season. Their patience paid off on Saturday. The Eagles battled strong headwind all afternoon long but still turned in strong times to start their season at the Hamline Invitational just down the road.

Jah'Kiing Joseph (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Heritage) will be a name for Eagle track and field fans to follow along with all spring long. The freshman made a splash this past winter by soaring to the top of the UMAC leaderboards in both sprinting and field events. Joseph got off on the right foot on Saturday, competing in his first ever collegiate outdoor meet. He finished in sixth place overall in the 200m dash, finishing with a time of 23.41 seconds while battling a 2.1 m/s headwind. The freshman finished behind four athletes from the MIAC and one from the UMAC. Joseph also made his debut in the long jump finishing in 17^th place with a distance of 5.75m in the finals.

The Eagles also have some experience on the squad, led by senior John Shevchuk (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine). The veteran picked up two top 20 finishes on the afternoon in sprinting events, battling the headwind in one race but benefitting from a tailwind in the other. He finished in 16^th place overall in the 100M dash with a time of 11.30 seconds. In the 200M, he finished in 11^th place overall with a time of 23.78 seconds despite a headwind of 3.0 m/s.

Will Dorch and Ashton Lofton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Springs Christian) each participated in the 100M and 200M dashes as well. Dorch finished at 11.53 seconds in the 100M while Lofton was at 12.03 seconds. In the 200M, Dorch was at 24.32 seconds and Lofton finished at 26.00 seconds.

Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) was the Eagles' top runner in the distance events. He turned in a time of 2:13.48 in the 800M run and ran the 1500M in 4:35.59. John Thomas III (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) had a time of 2:21.51 in the 800M.

Nathan Eikom (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) and Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) also ran distance events for UNW. Eikom competed in the 1500M and finished with a time of 4:45.37 while Van De Riet was in the 5000M and ended at 18:03.17.

After a long wait to start the season, the Eagles are officially off and running (that pun never gets old). They will be back at the Bethel Invitational on Saturday, April 13^th.