Allendale, Michigan - The men's track & field team traveled to Grand Valley State University this afternoon for the annual Bob Eubanks Open. The Saints saw several impressive performances in their first action in nearly a month.

The Saints efforts were paced by the national qualifying marks turned in by Jake Van Tassell and Ben Hardy.  Van Tassell recorded an 8.33 in the prelims of the 60 meter hurdles to hit the provisional qualifier. His time equaled the performance of Isaiah Jackson for #2 All-Time at Aquinas College. Hardy would then lead a strong team performance by the Saints in the Mile.  He placed 3rd overall in a time 4:15.01 to earn a provisional qualifier. Ben's personal best performance in the Mile improves his #5 spot on the Saints Top Five List. Ethan Barker (4:18.34) and Edward Frey (4:22.12) also excelled in the Mile for Aquinas.

The Saints also received strong performances by a pair of freshman in the sprint events. Keiton Fase raced well in the 60 meters (7.09) and the 200 meters (22.34), while Austin Lee placed 2nd in the 400 meters with a time of 51.6. Aquinas' field events were led by the performance of Jacob Merryfield in the high jump. Merryfield cleared 6-2 to set a new personal best.

Aquinas will return to action next Friday as the Saints host the John Flaminio Classic at the Alksnis Athletic and Recreation Building. The meet will begin at 5 p.m.