WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Carolina University Track & Field returned to competition for the first time since Christmas break on Saturday, January 17, competing at the Mondo College Invitational hosted at the JDL FastTrack.

The Bruins saw multiple strong individual performances in the men's events as the indoor season officially got underway.

In the men's 60-meter dash, freshman Jerrod McClain placed 63rd out of 82 competitors with a time of 7.44, while fellow freshman Jakori Taylor clocked a 7.66. Taylor also competed in the 200 meters, finishing with a time of 24.16.

Freshman Walther Ramos-Silva highlighted the middle-distance events by setting a new personal record in the 400 meters, improving his previous best by nearly five seconds in an encouraging early-season showing.

Field events provided additional momentum for Carolina, led by Jaylen Killiens-McIntyre in the long jump. Killiens-McIntyre broke his own school record, previously set in November at 6.40 meters, by extending the mark to 6.46 meters. In the high jump, Lamine Diop cleared 1.78 meters to round out the men's field performances.

Head Coach Caleb Thornburg was pleased with the team's return to competition and the progress shown early in the season.

"For our first meet back after the break, I thought our guys competed well and showed a lot of promise," said Thornburg. "We had personal records and a school record fall, which is always exciting. This meet gave us a good baseline, and we're looking forward to building on it as the season continues."

Carolina Track & Field will look to carry this momentum into its next indoor meet as the Bruins continue to prepare for conference competition later in the season.