Fayetteville, AR – Competing alongside some of the top four-year programs in the nation, the Indian Hills Men's Track & Field team put together a remarkable performance at the Arkansas Spring Invitational. The Warriors took home five first-place finishes at John McDonnell Field.

Highlighted by an electrifying 100-meter dash from sophomore Traunard Folson (Jacksonville, FL/Andrew Jackson), the Warriors earned four individual titles alongside a first-place relay squad. In total, the defending indoor national champions collected 12 top-five finishes to leave its mark in front of teams from the NCAA's SEC and Big 12 conferences.

Along with the Warriors' performance at Arkansas, a number of individuals competed at the Truman State Invitational as part of a busy weekend for the Warrior track & field programs where the men placed third overall against four-year universities.

Folson starred in the men's 100m dash with a record-breaking performance. The sophomore dashed to a time of 9.98 (+4.8w) to shatter Warrior alum and Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek's previous school record. Folson set a new personal best by 0.28 seconds and took home first-place by outdistancing himself from Arkansas senior Lance Lang, an eight-time first-team NCAA All-American by .05 seconds.

Folson's time not only ranks as the top all-conditions time in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) this year, but ranks fourth in the world among all levels of competition. Folson trails only Isaac Botsio of Ghana's 9.90 mark, Pablo Mateo of France's mark of 9.92, and Ghana's Abdul-Rasheed Saminu's time of 9.95.

Sophomore Tyrice Taylor (Linstead, JamaicaT/Vere Technical), the 2023 800-meter outdoor national champion, took home top honors in the 800-meter invitational with a time of 1:52.74. Taylor, who holds three school records, has now won 12 career events at Indian Hills, including seven individual middle-distance titles.

Freshman Brandon Ford (Perth, Western Australia/Duncraig) dominated the 15-athlete field in the men's 3,000-meter run. Ford, a two-time indoor school record holder, clocked in with a top time of 8:33.56, nearly 18 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from Oral Roberts University.

Sophomore Anthony Ward (Madison, WI/Madison Memorial) captured the men's triple jump event with a school record mark of 14.89-meters. Ward outjumped Link Lindsey from Arkansas by 0.51 m,eters to earn the title.

The men's 4x100-meter relay quarter of Stephen Brown (Pontiac, MI/Lake Orion), Folson, Amos Oruamabo (_Jacksonville, FL/Ribault) and Michael Blank (Cedar Rapids, IA/Cedar Rapids Washington) took the top spot on the podium with a time of 40.09, the third-fastest time in the nation this year.

The men's 4x400-meter relay squad took home second-place honors with an impressive showing. The squad of Jah'Vauni Wheeler (Atlanta, GA/Heritage), Taylor, Terrick Johnson (Memphis, TN/Whitehaven), and Chris Johnson (Houston, TX/Cypress Park) clocked in with a time of 3:10.75, the fourth-fastest time in the nation this year.

Freshman Cyrus Ways (Ponte Vedra, FL/Nease) starred in the hurdle events for the Warriors, taking home fourth-place in both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdle events. Ways clocked in with a time of 14.00 in the 110m event and a mark of 53.96 in the 400m event. Both times are good enough to crack the top-10 all-conditions marks in the nation this year.

Indoor All-American Triston Miller (Columbus Junction, IA/Columbus Junction) took home fourth in the men's high jump with a mark of 2.01 while Chris Johnson placed fifth in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 49.30.

Competing at Truman State University in Missouri, the Warriors saw another dominant performance from freshman Tate Joens (Cedar Rapids, IA/Cedar Rapids Prairie) in the throws events. Joens placed third in all three throws events – 15.91 meters in the shot put, 49.75 meters in the discus, and 57.54 in the hammer throw. The indoor All-American broke his own school record in the hammer throw event and owns three school records to his name.

Indian Hills returns to action April 12-13 at the KT Woodman Classic in Wichita, KS.

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