MILL SPRING, N.C.— The Montreat College men's track & field team returned to Mill Spring, N.C. on Friday for the Tryon Banked Invitational. With nine events on the docket ranging from the morning hours to late in the evening, the Cavaliers' 19 entries accumulated one school record and a total of three personal bests.
 
Hunter Smathers got the day going for the Cavs with the morning edition of the 5000m. In a field of 30 runners, Smathers bested nearly two dozen of them, placing seventh overall with a time of 16:18.19.
 
Brock Lauer also delivered a top-10 performance during the morning thanks to running his personal best in the 1000m. The Strong City, Kan. native shaved 4.40 seconds off his prior career-best time, finishing Friday's event in 2:34.84. Lauer's effort captured ninth out of 46 participants. Newcomer Hugo Petat-Hemono also thrived in the race, achieving 12^th with his 2:36.53 debut time.
 
As the Tryon Banked Invitational shifted into the afternoon portion of its schedule, the second running of the 5000m occurred. In the latter edition of the event, Ronald Way led the charge for the Cavaliers. A transfer from San Diego Mesa College, Way crossed the finish line with the 13^th-quickest time out of 21 competitors (15:42.49).
 
William Wood represented the Cavs well in the field on Friday, coming in 17^th out of 44 athletes. Wood's top toss of the afternoon soared 13.94m in the air.
 
In the middle of the day, Cameron Rice made program history. Utilizing a 36.26-second performance, Rice managed to eclipse Montreat's 300m school record time by 0.27 seconds. The outstanding mark proved good enough for 20^th in a 56-participant field.
 
A pair of Cavaliers registered personal bests during the late afternoon window. Both Senor Glenn and Mark Blalock turned in the best 800m times of their collegiate careers, with the former doing so in 2:03.70 and the latter in 2:12.65. Glenn placed 29^th out of 83 runners, while Blalock concluded 60^th.
 
Montreat wrapped up its time at the Tryon Banked Invitational with a pair of entries in the 4x400m relay. Consisting of Jordan Pippin, Rice, Nathan Cremin and Jackson Mace-Maynard, the Cavs' 'A' unit finished sixth out of 14 teams. The foursome notched a time of 3:29.95, roughly four seconds faster than the Cavs' 'B' entry of Blalock, Glenn, Sam Duncan and Yannick Kabera (3:33.92).
 
For a look at results from the Tryon Banked Invitational, click here.
 
The Montreat College men's track & field team heads to JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C. next Friday and Saturday for the Camel City Invitational.