Graceland Men’s Track Posts Strong Marks at Grand View Invitational

DES MOINES, Iowa — March 22, 2025 — The Graceland University men's outdoor track and field team delivered a series of competitive performances Saturday at the Grand View Invitational, held at Duke Williams Stadium.

The Yellowjackets earned high placements in sprint, middle-distance, and technical events, demonstrating solid early-season form across a wide range of disciplines.

In the sprints, junior Brice Taylor led Graceland's charge in the 100 meters, placing second overall with a time of 10.98 seconds (+2.7 m/s). Senior Robert Robinson followed closely, finishing fourth in 11.09 seconds (+0.7), while freshman Tael Jean posted an 11.40-second time, and freshman Elias Walker clocked 11.41 seconds to place inside the top 15.

Senior Paul Marchand rounded out the top sprint finishes with a time of 11.46 seconds (+0.7), showcasing the team's sprint depth. In the second round of the 100 meters, senior Al-Farouk Salako (11.54) and sophomore Tymar West (11.61) added solid efforts.

Graceland showed further strength in the 200 meters, where Taylor captured third place in 22.27 seconds. West added an 11th-place finish in 23.59 seconds, while Robinson finished 13th in 23.72 seconds and Salako followed at 14th (23.90).

In the middle-distance events, freshman Isaac Ramirez secured an individual event title in the 800 meters, crossing first in 2:05.48. Fellow freshman Fidher Ramirez placed seventh with a 2:16.49 effort.

The Yellowjackets were also active in the distance races. Sophomore Moses Ridley posted a 4:51.63 finish in the 1500 meters, claiming 11th overall against a strong field.

In the 400 meters, sophomore Caden Israel clocked 54.37 seconds for 10th place, and freshman Payton Miller added a 54.51 result to finish 11th. Sophomore Logan Mace contributed a time of 59.19 seconds.

In hurdles action, sophomore Dantre Kennybrew placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.32 seconds, showing promising development in the technical event.

Coach Quinton Harley pointed to the team's balanced effort as a major positive takeaway from the invitational.

"Our focus today was execution across all phases — block starts, clean phases in the hurdles, controlled middle-distance racing — and we saw a lot of those elements come together," said head coach Quinton Harley. "The guys handled the wind and competition well. We're still building, but this meet showed the foundation is strong."

The Yellowjackets displayed scoring balance across sprints, hurdles, mid-distance, and distance events, gaining crucial competitive repetitions early in the season.

In the relays, Graceland's performances underscored their speed potential. Several athletes posted personal or seasonal bests across sprint sectors, even under variable wind conditions that impacted sprint and jump phases throughout the meet.

Technical consistency was a point of emphasis for the team, particularly in hurdle events and relays, with a focus on efficient energy distribution over the course of races.

The Graceland University men's outdoor track and field team will compete next Friday and Saturday, March 28–29, at the Central Methodist Invitational in Fayette, Missouri, at Davis Field.

For more information on Graceland indoor and outdoor track and field, and all of Graceland athletics, visit GUjackets.com.