Sophomore Antonio James won the shotput with a 17.87-meter throw, and set a new outdoor personal best of 61.37meters in the hammer throw.

He also tossed the discus 54.85 meters to finish second in what he said is his favorite event, coming within a half meter of Alexander Rose, who was competing independently.

“Just getting the discus back in my hands is a blessing,” James said. “That was a good start off to the season. That usually gets people to the second round of nationals, so today was a really good day.”

With wind gusting more than 20 mph for most of the day Saturday, it played a significant role for both runners and throwers.

James said the wind can be a blessing or a curse, but it still was nice to be outside after a long indoor season.

“For me today, (the wind) was kind of beneficial for my first two or three throws,” he said. “It’s good to get outside and get used to the elements and get back into outdoor competition.”

Despite the wind, senior sprinter Keenan Michael set a personal record of 21.64 seconds in the 200-meter dash to come in second place, and was the top-collegiate finisher in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.44 seconds.

He said as a team they did really well, and the conditions won’t always be ideal during the outdoor season.

“I race to win every time, so to get first, or top collegiate, (was great),” Michael said. “The wind definitely played a factor. At times it seemed insurmountable. (I) just try and get through it without using to much of your energy. I did a lot of my sides on the back stretch to get used to it.”

Michael lost the 400-meter dash to professional runner Luke Pawlaczyk, who runs for PowerBar.

Still, head coach Walt Drenth said he was impressed with more than just the performances of James and Michael.

“The steeplechasers are the people we lean on in steeple with (sophomore) Leah (O’Connor) and (junior) Ben (Miller),”
Drenth said.

“I thought they had really good first outing races. The wind was substantial, and in a race like that where you’re running multiple laps, it really can take a toll, and they stayed really into the run.”

He also said freshman Janae Hill, who had a pair of second-place finishes in the 100-meter dash and 4-x-100 meter relay, was a pleasant surprise.

The Spartans travel to Athens, Ga., for the Bulldog Decathalon beginning Thursday and finishing Friday.

The weather will be warmer and the competition will be faster, and Drenth said the small group going down there figures to build on their performance in East Lansing.

“We just need good competition and good weather, and that will help us sharpen up a little bit,” Drenth said. “Our top sprinters, top horizontal jumpers and our top throwers (are going). Our expectation is they’re going there, and we’ll probably see much improvement in their marks. We’re going because the weather will give us that chance.”