Lynchburg, Va. – Tristan Wright, Alex Jordan, and Jaren Lee headlined stellar performances from Lynchburg track & field's underclassmen as the Hornets hosted the Burg Open at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex on Friday.

Ten of the 15 individual track events were won by freshmen, and several newcomers flirted with top-ten marks in program history. 

On the sprints side, Tristan Wright posted a 6.92 performance in the 60m dash to win the event, narrowly missing an opportunity to improve his school-record mark of 6.88. At the Liberty Kickoff, Wright ousted Jaylen Jones' previous school record by one-hundredth of a second. 

Wright also placed fourth in the men's 200m dash (22.32), while fellow freshman James Young finished 10th (22.91).

Grad transfer Michael Hamm also posted an impressive performance in his 2025 debut. The 400 specialist posted a personal best and finished fourth in the 60m dash finals (7.00).

Betsy Mohnkern contributed across multiple sprint events for the women's team. The grad student placed second in the 60m hurdle finals (9.11), eighth in the women's 60m dash (8.29), and eighth in the 200m dash (26.69). This level of activity is not uncommon for Mohnkern, as she earned podium finishes in four events at the 2024 ODAC Outdoor Championships.

Rylee Turner finished sixth in the 60m dash final (8.16) and 10th in the 200m dash (27.15). In the women's 400m dash, Samaria Little placed sixth with 1:06.29 while Anna Miller placed seventh in 1:06.69.

The distance team boasted numerous personal bests despite several athletes completing pacing assignments to help their teammates. Notably, freshman Alex Jordan led the charge in the men's 3000 with an 8:33.87 performance. The Hornets placed seven in the top ten with Johnathan Cobb (8:33.98) and Jack Weddle (8:38.53) completing the podium.

For the women's team, Allison Dell won the women's 3k with a 10:34.01 result, pacing Molly Silva (10:34.59) to second place. Delaney Saulsbury (10:59.48), Georgie Lanham (11:23.24), and Sidney Sindt (11:44.85) also placed inside the top ten.

Dell also finished fifth in the women's mile, finishing in 5:13.03. For the men's mile, Marko Kovacevic earned fourth place with a 4:16.17 performance.

The Lynchburg men also slotted three men in the top ten of the 800m run. Jamison Mantooth finished third with 1:57.95, Randy White captured fourth with 1:58.05, and Carter Herklotz finished ninth with 1:59.84.

In field events, Jaren Lee and Elijah Rose finished first in the high jump with a 6' 4¾" (1.95m) mark. Julian Powell placed fourth in the pole vault with a 13' 9¼" (4.20m) result.

The Hornets will send athletes to the Finn Pincus Invitational at Roanoke College and the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech on Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18.

For full results from the meet, visit Blue Ridge Timing or click here.

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--LYN--