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Ryan Hopkins
Ryan Hopkins
Photo by: Sideline Sports

Hopkins All-SoCon; Jones Breaks 35-Year-Old Davidson Pole Vault Record at SoCon Championships

4/24/2010 8:24:13 PM | Men's Track & Field


BOONE, N.C. – #Ryan Hopkins# led the Davidson men's track and field team with an All-Southern Conference performance in the 10,000-meter run Saturday at the 2010 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the campus of Appalachian State University. The Wildcats are sixth in the team standings with 11 points after the first day of competition.

Hopkins was just under 10 seconds off the pace of Appalachian State's Phillip Mitchell, placing second in 31 minutes, 42.26 seconds in one of the top-10 performances all-time by a Davidson runner in the 10K. Freshman Demetrios Pagonis also scored for the Wildcats in the event, placing sixth in 32:20.94 to earn a place on the All-Freshman team.

Junior Bryce Jones broke the Davidson pole vault record with a vault of 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches (4.45m) to place 11th. The previous record of 14-6 (4.42m), set by Woody Van Meter, had stood since 1975.

“Overall, it was a really good day for us,” said head coach Gary Andrew. “There were a lot of personal records and we're looking forward to a strong finish tomorrow with several guys in the finals.”

Junior Peter Bruton and freshman Will Stratford both advanced to the 800-meter run finals, placing sixth and eighth, respectively in the preliminary round. #Bruton# placed second in the first heat with a time of 1:54.81, while Stratford was third in the third heat with a time of 1:54.71. Stratford's performance places him on Davidson's top-10 performers list in the event.

Junior JinHan Justin Song ran a personal best and Davidson all-time top-10 time of 49.15 seconds to place fifth in the 400-meter dash preliminaries and advance to the finals.

Sophomore Taylor Martin secured the last qualifying position in the 400-meter hurdles, placing eighth with a personal-best time of 55.93.

Senior Mordecai Scott came up just short of advancing in the 100-meter dash, placing 10th with a time of 11.21.

Senior Blake Evitt led three 'Cats runners in the steeplechase, placing 10th in 9:54.32. Vincent Weir was the leading freshman, placing 11th overall in 9:58.12 to earn a place on the All-Freshman team.

At the conclusion of day one Appalachian State leads the men with 70.5 points and the women with 43. Samford is second on the men's side with 56.5 points. Western Carolina rounds out the top three for both the men and women.

The final day of competition will resume Sunday at 8 a.m.

Men's Team Results – Day 1
1. Appalachian State - 70.5
2. Samford - 56.5
3. Western Carolina - 52
4. The Citadel - 16.5
5. Furman - 15
6. Davidson - 11
7. Chattanooga - 9
8. UNC Greensboro - 3
9. Wofford - 0.5