Kent State men’s track and field finished in first place in five events Friday night at the Akron Dual, its first home meet of the season. 

The Flashes’ late performance wasn’t enough in their 84-67 loss against the University of Akron. 

Ryan Demaline and Walter Petzel finished in first and second place in the shot put event. Demaline finished with a distance of 16.86 m, while Petzel finished .17 m behind with a score of 16.69. Akron’s Davis Hedrick finished in third place, finishing 1.56 m behind with a distance of 15.13m. Kent State’s last competitor in the event, Trevor Detillion, did not place.

The Flashes had three athletes compete in the weight throw. Jake Wickey finished in first place for Kent State with a final distance of 20.14 m.  The two other Flashes who competed in the event, Detillion and Demaline, finished in fourth and sixth place.

The Flashes also had two players finish in the top three for the long jump: TJ Lawson and Del’Mario Hairston. Lawson finished in first place with a distance of 7.59 m and Hariston finished in third with a distance of 7.43 m. Brian Phillips also competed in the event and finished in 12th with a distance of 5.00 m. 

Kent State struggled the most in the 60 m hurdles after not having any runners finish in the top three. Lucca Passarelli and Jacob Mally finished in fourth and sixth place. Passarelli had a time of 8.67 seconds on his second heat. Mally had a time of 8.84 seconds on his second heat. 

The Flashes next meet is Jan. 31 at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Contact Amanda Levine at [email protected].