LEXINGTON, Va. --- Tusculum University posted four school-record performances and earned another NCAA Division II qualifier during the opening day of competition at the VMI Winter Classic Friday afternoon.

Daryl Smith Jr. broke his own school record in the men's triple jump and Adrian Gumm set another program throwing record in the men's weight throw, while Theresa Green-White claimed the program record in the women's 60 meters and Emily Coddington won the women's 1000 meters while breaking her own mark in the event.

Marquel Pittman became the third Pioneer to post an NCAA qualifying time in the men's 60 meters this season as he advanced to Saturday's finals. Tusculum will resume competition at the VMI Winter Classic at 9:00 Saturday morning, during which 12 men's and 10 women's events will be conducted.

MEN'S RECAP
Pittman ran 6.79 seconds for an NCAA provisional qualifying tie during preliminaries, then ran 6.73 seconds in the semifinals to take over second place on the program performance list in the 60. His time was tied for the ninth-fastest in program history and is currently eighth-fastest in Division II this season.

Also advancing from prelims in the 60 meters were Jarvis Barber Jr. (6.92 seconds) and Isaiah Olson (7.03 seconds), with Barber finishing 14th in the semifinals and Olson 17th with a time of 6.97 seconds which puts him ninth on the program performance list.

Smith jumped 14.46 meters (47 feet, 5 1/4 inches) on his third attempt in preliminaries and finished in fifth place overall, surpassing his school record of 14.44 meters (47 feet, 4 1/2 inches) set at the Mondo College Invitational on Jan. 14. Smith remains 28th on the NCAA Division II performance list in the event.

Gumm, who set the program record in the shot put at Vanderbilt last weekend, threw 13.53 meters (44 feet, 4 3/4 inches) to break the record of 13.22 meters (43 feet, 4 1/2 inches) set by teammate Mikeal Pillar at the Mondo College Invitational. Gumm finished 18th in the event while Pillar was 31st with a best throw of 12.13 meters (39 feet, 9 3/4 inches).

In the 400 meters, Antonio Aparicio finished fourth with a time of 1:06.50, second-best in program history to that of teammate Dorian Craven who ran 1:05.37 at the Commonwealth College Opener on Dec. 3. DeWayne Morris was seventh in 1:09.04 for the fourth-best time in school history, while Stephen Brewer ran 1:09.53 for the seventh-best mark by a Pioneer. Landen Locklear was 14th overall and moved into ninth place on the performance list at 1:11.15.

WOMEN'S RECAP
Running in the faster of two sections of the 1000, Coddington took the lead on the opening lap and won by more than five seconds over runner-up Patricia Barrera of Milligan. Coddington's time of 3:07.82 broke her own record of 3:10.45 set at last year's VMI Winter Classic on Feb. 11, 2022. Inmaculada Delgado finished seventh in 3:27.58 which is eighth-fastest in program history.

Green-White ran 7.78 seconds in the preliminaries of the 60 meters to advance out of 11th place and break the program record of Kiera Taylor, who ran 7.80 seconds at the Commonwealth College Opener on Dec. 3. Wright also advanced to the semifinals with a time of 7.87 seconds, as did Taylor who ran 7.88 in prelims. In the semifinals, Green-White was timed at 7.80 seconds while Wright tied her season best at 7.83 seconds and Taylor posted a 7.84.

In the 500 meters, Judy Chellah finished sixth in 1:25.11 for the third-fastest time in program history, with Aliyah Adderley recording the sixth-fastest time and placing ninth overall at 1:29.30.

Amber Hogan finished 25th in the weight throw with a best mark of 12.90 meters (42 feet, 4 inches), beating her previous career best by nearly three feet and tying for the second-longest throw in program history with Alyssa Farmer, who recorded her distance at the USC Open on Feb. 20, 2020.

VMI Winter Classic - Day 1 of 2
Tusculum results
MEN
60 prelims: 2. Marquel Pittman, 6.79 (advances); 9. Jarvis Barber Jr., 6.92 (advances); 21. Isaiah Olson, 7.03 (advances); 23. Zackary Nelson, 7.03 (advances); 53. Keelen Lester, 7.31.
60 semis: 2. Marquel Pittman, 6.73 (advances/NCAA qualifier); 14. Jarvis Barber Jr., 6.94; 17. Isaiah Olson, 6.97.
60 hurdles prelims: 20. Jamal Cash, 8.74; 23. Daryl Smith Jr., 8.84.
500: 4. Antonio Aparicio, 1:06.50; 7. DeWayne Morris, 1:09.04; 10. Stephen Brewer, 1:09.53; 14. Landen Locklear, 1:11.15.
Triple jump: 5. Daryl Smith Jr., 14.46m (47-5 1/4) (school record).
Weight throw: 18. Adrian Gumm, 13.53m (44-4 3/4) (school record); 31. Mikeal Pillar, 12.13m (39-9 3/4); 43. Gavin Rowell, 9.24 (30-3 3/4).

WOMEN
60 prelims: 11. Theresa Green-White, 7.78 (advances/school record); 21. Kylia Wright, 7.87 (advances); 23. Kiera Taylor, 7.88 (advances); 47. Silvia Bah, 8.35.
60 semis: 11. Theresa Green-White, 7.80; 16. Kylia Wright, 7.83; 18. Kiera Taylor, 7.84.
60 hurdles prelims: 32. Theresa Green-White, 9.96.
500: 6. Judy Chellah, 1:25.11; 9. Aliyah Adderley, 1:29.30.
1000: 1. Emily Coddington, 3:07.82 (school record); 7. Inmaculada Delgado, 3:27.58.
Weight throw: 25. Amber Hogan, 12.90m (42-4).