Westerville, OH. – After battling through four different events, the 2026 Outdoor Track & Field season came to an end on Friday night at the Otterbein Twilight Invitational. It was the last chance for the Cardinals to compete in their respective events. They would secure two top 10 finishes on the day, with the pole vault leading the way.
It would produce the top finish for the Cardinals, coming courtesy of Alexander Rodriguez. The Cardinal freshman continues his strong start to the season, taking third in the event with a height of 4.60 meters. It was his highest vault of the outdoor season, and was just .20 meters lower than hist vault that set the record and won him the Indoor Mountain East Conference (MEC) Pole Vault title. He would end up passing until the 4.60 meter height, and height needed just one vault to get over the bar. He would pass on the 4.75 meter height, and would come back into the competition field at 4.90. He was going for a PR, but fell just short of the mark to round out the night. Also competing in the Pole Vault was Taven Mayo, who finished 17th in the field. He hit a height of 3.45 meters, clearing the bar on the first try, tying his PR for the event and setting his highest mark of the outdoor season.
The other top 10 finish would come in the Men's Javelin, with Jacob Legg competing. It was his first time competing in the event as a collegiate athlete, and he would finish sixth in the field with a distance of 43.71 meters. It would come down to the final throw of the first round, but Legg would qualify for the finals with a distance of 41.07 meters. He would end up holding the #6 spot heading into finals and it was his first throw of the final heat that went as his longest throw. He hit the 43.71 meter mark, setting his initial PR in the event. It was the first of two events for Legg, as he competed in the Men's High Jump. After no-heighting last time out, Legg would hit his second height of the season, jumping 1.75 meters. It was just .05 meters away from his PR in the event, as he wrapped up a strong day on the field.
The track events would round out the day, with the biggest performance coming in the 400-Meter Hurdle. Freshman Kris Vigars would compete and, although he did not lower his time for a fifth straight event, he would finish 14th with a time of 59.52. It was the fourth time this season that Vigars cracked the one minute mark as he takes that momentum into Outdoor Championships. The day would begin with the sprinters, as three Cardinals competed in the 100-meter dash. Leading the trio was Roy Paz Jr., who took 39th with a time of 11.87 seconds, while Mayo (11.90) and Abenezer Yirdaw (12.29) each finished in the top 50. Rounding out the day was Hunter Tomich in the 3000-Meter Steeplechase, where he finished 16th with a time of 10:32.10.
The Wheeling University Men's Outdoor Track & Field team returns to action on Sunday, April 26th, when they compete at the 2026 MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with first events at 11 AM.
