Columbus, OH. – As the outdoor season comes down to it's final week, some of Wheeling Track & Field's top athletes are looking to get to peak performance in their specific events. Some of those athletes did just that as they competed in day one of the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State. It was part of a split squad week that saw half the athletes go here and the other half heading to Otterbein University.

The Jesse Owens Classic featured 13 of Wheeling's athletes making the trip to the two-day event, with only two of those athletes in action on day one. Senior Brian Vandusen and sophomore Jabez Reeves were the two athletes in action as they competed in the 200-Meter Dash and the Men's Long Jump. These were the two athletes that represented Wheeling in the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships and they are trying to get back to the National Stage during the outdoor season. Both had strong performances on e again to start the event, but neither would come away with a PR. They each finished in the top 15 of their respective events, However, and will look to use that momentum moving forward.

First up was Vandusen in the Men's Long Jump as he was scheduled to compete in Heat Three of the day. With many of his competitors being from division I, Vandusen was ready to show that he could compete with some of the best collegiate jumpers. His first jump landed at 6.46 meters and put him near the bottom half of the second heat. He would hit his top mark of the day on jump two when he jumped for 6.52 meters to beat his first jump by .06 meters. Vandusen came back on jump three with his shortest distance of the day at 6.36 meters to finish the event. The second jump distance was enough to help him finish 13th at the event. He finished a water behind Youngstown State's Tye Hunt, who hit 7.52 meters.

The day one events concluded with Jabez Reeves seeing action in the Men's 200-Meter Dash to round things out. He would compete in the third heat in the field and, like Vandusen, many of his competitors were from division I. Reeves beat his previous PR by .01 seconds as he finished in 21.39 seconds. He finished 8th in the field but second among Division II competitors, finishing behind Ashland's Keshun Jones. It was the first of two events that Reeves will compete in during the Jesse Owens Classic as he began his event on a strong note. Day two will feature the final athletes getting their shots in their final tune-up before the 2022 MEC Outdoor Championships.

Day two of the Jesse Owens Classic kicks off on Saturday, April 23rd, with the field events kicking off at 10 AM followed by track events at noon.