YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Bethany College women's track and field team competed at the YSU Collegiate Invitational hosted by Youngstown (Ohio) State University at the Watson and Tressel Training Site.

Bethany competed across five different events against 15 other teams, including four NCAA Division I teams and five Division II teams. The Bison had a very strong showing where they were highlighted by a handful of personal bests. 

Perhaps the most impressive track event was the 200-meter dash where three Bison finished within the Top-15. All-PAC junior Caliyph McClinton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Neighborhood Academy) finished fourth overall with a time of 22.12 seconds trailing only three Division I sprinters. However, freshman Juan Colon (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey) also impressed setting a new personal best with a time of 22.65 and finishing tenth overall, as did freshman Jason Ellman (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) who finished 15th with a time of 22.75. Sophomore Shavel Lesley (Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) rounded out the Bison competitors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.56. 

Ellman also finished eighth in the long jump with a distance of 6.73 meters, which is now ranked No. 60 in all of Division III. Also competing in the long jump was junior Willie Holden (Exmore, Va./Broadwater Academy) who jumped 6.11 meters in his Green and White debut. Holden would also compete in the triple jump while junior Mykel Davis (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) participated in his first meet as a Bison in the high jump.

In the weight throw, senior Koda Moore (Proctor, W.Va./John Marshall) also notched a personal best with a 13.90-meter throw to finish ninth out of 31 throwers and first among Division III competitors. Also throwing the weight were junior Jalen Britton (Fort Lee, Va./Prince George), sophomore Zaire Tullis (Hartford, Conn./Capital Prep Magnet School), and freshman Kevin Leach (Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan) who competed in his first collegiate meet. The same four also threw the shot put along with sophomore Shonathan Desena (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area).

The Green and White also displayed a ton of new faces in the 60-meter dash preliminaries with six freshman including Ziacheas White (Waycross, Ga./Ware County), Ja'Vonni O'hara (Waycross, Ga./Ware County), Charvez Brooks (Gwynn Oak, Md./Forest Park), Duke Dudley (St. Petersburg, Fla./Canterbury), Dontavious Murphy-Sorrell (Baltimore, Md./Our Lady of Mount Carmel), and Jermain Beersingh (Miami, Fla./Hialeah Senior) while Daryes'e Fleming (Joppa, Md./Joppatowne) helped lead the underclassmen by posting a career best with his 7.30-second finish.

The Bison are back in action on Saturday, January 24 as select members will travel to Ashland, Ohio to compete at the Ashland Collegiate Invitational hosted by Ashland (Ohio) University at 10 a.m. in the Niss Athletic Center, while other members of the team will travel to Geneva, Ohio to compete in the Spire Midwest Collegiate Invitational hosted by Spire Institute at 10 a.m. in the Spire Indoor Track and Field Complex.