SALISBURY, N.C. - Livingstone Track and Field opened up their season last weekend and performed well to help set the tone for the rest of the season. They opened at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg, Virginia, and turned around two days later to compete in the JDL Early Bird Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

Liberty Open
Of the many strong performances by the Blue Bears in the first meet of the season, Matthew Blackmon had arguably the best. In the 60-meter hurdles prelims, he posted a time of 8.20, giving him fourth place heading into the final. He improved his time to 8.11 in the finals, earning a third-place finish for Livingstone. 

Luis Azar-Moise also earned a third-place finish of his own in the triple jump, reaching a distance of 14.16 meters. 

David Bradford turned heads himself, as he competed in the 400-meter dash, finishing at 48.83 which set a new school record and beat his own previous individual record. 

Jean Yves Thiemele Marco impressed in his first appearance for the Blue Bears, long jumping a distance of 6.78 meters to claim fourth in the event. 

Three Blue Bears earned top-10 finishes in the 5000 meters, including Truth Mattison (4th, 17:04.75), Brandon Jeffers (5th, 17:30.50), and Adrian Taranto (6th, 18:11.54).

On the women's side, both Trinity Bumbry (2:20.75) and Gabrielle Lankford (2:29.76) placed within the top-11 in the 800 meters, finishing eighth and eleventh, respectively. 

Other notable finishes:

Justin Hutchinson (60 Meters): 8th, 7.01
Keilan Strader (200 Meters): 7th, 22.26
Nariah Johnson-Furr (Triple Jump): 9th, 10.69 meters


JDL Early Bird Invitational
In the team's second appearance of the season, both the men's and women's side continued to impress.

On the women's side, Bumbry and Lankford combined for two top-10 finishes in the 60 0meters, including a second-place finish by Bumbry (1:42.18). Lankford finished in sixth with a time of 1:47.36.

In the women's shot put, Jewelle Becton set a new personal record with a distance of 11.44 meters, good for seventh place. 

On the men's side, Jayden Mungo followed up a fourth-place finish in the 60 meter hurdles prelims with a fourth-place finish in finals, finishing at 8.54.

Jean Yves Thiemele Marco posted a second-consecutive strong performance in the long jump, setting a personal record with a third-place distance of 6.96 meters. 

Azar-Moise once again finished in the top-five in the triple jump, finishing fifth at 14.01 meters.

UP NEXT
The Blue Bears are back in action on Friday, December 8 as they'll compete in the Bast Cregger Invitational. After that, they'll enjoy the holiday before returning to action on Saturday, January 13, competing in the HBCU Showcase.