Goshen, IN — It isn’t one of the larger meets on the schedule — only three teams compete — and it only happens once a year, but the Goshen College men’s track and field team knows how to do it up right at the Maple Leaf Invitational, the program’s lone indoor meet of the season. Goshen took six first-place finishes Friday night at the Roman Gingerich Center, led by senior Tolu Kayode’s record-breaking performance in the 35-pound weight throw.

“We were very pleased by the effort we got from both of our teams Friday night,” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “Although we couldn’t match the depth of Bethel (College) we had just as many, if not more, quality performances from our athletes.”

While Goshen finished second to the Pilots in the team scoring (Bethel garnered 74 total points to Goshen’s 60), no one in attendance could miss the incredible performance by Kayode in the weight throw, as the fifth-year senior heaved the object a distance of 54 feet, 1 inch, breaking his former program record of 52 feet, 10 inches set last season. That mark was also good for a Roman Gingerich Center record and an NAIA automatic qualifying mark, guaranteeing Kayode a slot in the upcoming NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in March.

Kayode let out a scream that carried throughout the facility upon his record-breaking toss, as the crowd stopped and applauded what was obviously the best throw of the evening, if not the history of the arena.

“Tolu has been working hard on technique over the last couple of weeks and he found the record toss he had been looking for,” Clark said. “The toss also eclipsed the NAIA automatic mark and should move him well up in the standings for the indoor championships.”

Backing Kayode were strong performances from a variety of athletes, including a triple-win for senior Don Williams. Williams took first in both the high jump (6 feet, 2 inches) and the 55-meter hurdles (:08.34), as well as being part of the first-place 4 X 2-lap relay team that finished in a time of 3:48.10. Joining Williams in that event were senior Dan Adock, junior Jason Young and freshman Andrew Murto.

Young was able to walk away with a first-place effort in the 400-meter dash, burning the competition with a time of :52.35. Sophomore Jake Gillette rounded off the blue-ribbon performances for Goshen in the 3,000-meter run, taking first in a clip of 9:21.54.

“Don Williams won his specialties in convincing fashion,” Clark said. “Our relay team performed well, while Jake Gillette and Jason Young had some strong showings in their respective events. It was a very positive meet for our men’s team.”

Bethel’s 74-point team performance was bolstered by a pair of Roman Gingerich Center records, as the Pilots’ Zac Burrington set a new facility mark in the pole vault (16 feet) while Travis Lavine’s toss of 47 feet, 8 inches in the shot put was also an arena record. Tri-State University rounded off the team scoring, finishing with a total 25 team points.

Goshen will next travel to Purdue University, where the team will take part in the Boilermaker Invitational on Saturday.