SPOKANE, WA – LC State Track and Field opened the 2026 outdoor season at the Sam Adams Classic on Friday at Whitworth, and the Warrior men set two school records and earned a national standard right out of the gate. The men’s 4x100m relay ran the best time in school history and second-fastest in the NAIA this season, and Reid Thomas broke the program record in the shot put.
“This was easily the best opening day of outdoor season that I can remember,” coach Mike Collins said. “I keep thinking from year to year as our records get better and better that we’re going to slow down when it comes to putting new names and new records in the books, but we definitely didn’t slow down today. Across the board in almost all specialty areas we saw new names and new records going in.”
The Warriors had a standout start to the track portion of the season with a school record and national standard in the men’s 4x100m relay. The group of Jordan Castillo, Preston Cooper, Collin Wimer and Camden Koerner ran the second-fastest time in the NAIA this season at 40.90. They finished second at the meet, less than 1/100th of a second behind NCAA Division I Eastern Washington.
Cooper went on to lead the group individually in the 100m with a time of 10.85 to place fourth. Wimer was sixth with the fifth-best time in program history (10.99) and Castillo crossed the line at the same time. Koerner was ninth with a time of 11.09. Wimer led LC State in the 200m with the fifth-best time in the Warrior record book to place third (21.76). Cooper was fourth (21.78), Castillo was fifth (21.81), Avery Seal placed ninth (22.55), Harry Lazenby was 10th (22.56), Trenton Johnson finished 11th (22.60) and Luke Siler was 12th (22.84).
Thomas broke the LC State record in shot put that has stood since 1999. His mark of 15.03m had him in fifth place at the meet, and Micah Fox was 12th (12.73m). Thomas threw the second-best hammer throw in program history to place seventh in the event (52.22m). Ian Roeber was 15th (43.17m), Zane Hearne placed 23rd (32.39m) and Fox was 26th (29.11m).
“It was exciting to see that a record that was set in the very first year of our track program in 1999 was broken,” Collins added. “It is one that has been sitting for a very long time, so exciting to see Reid break that today.”
Another highlight to throws for LC State was Hearne in the discus. His mark of 45.53m is the third-best in the record book and earned a sixth-place finish.
Johnson was the top Warrior finisher in the triple jump in second place (14.55m). Bryan Kinene was third with the second-best mark in program history (14.28m) and Wimer was fifth with the third-best LC State mark ever (13.17m).
Koerner led LC State in the long jump with the fifth-best jump in the program record book. He finished fourth (6.73m), Kinene was eighth (6.62m), Johnson finished ninth (6.48m) and Max Funk placed 11th with a personal best of 6.08m.
Aidan Grenier made his mark at LC State in the hurdle events with a solid first outdoor meet in his career. The freshman ran a time of 15.32 in the 110m hurdles, which ranks third at LC State, then clocked a time of 56.40 in the 400m hurdles, which ranks fourth. He finished second in both events.
Lazenby was the top Warrior in the 400m with the fourth-best time in program history. He ran a time of 49.88 to finish fifth with Seal in seventh (50.66) and Siler in eighth (50.82).
James Bogdanowicz placed third in the pole vault (4.45m) and Brandon Decker was fourth (4.00m).
Kobe Wessels turned in a third-place finish in the 800m (1:52.98). Tristin O’Brien led the Warriors in the 5000m with a sixth-place finish (15:18.40) and Connor Alexander was 10th (15:36.95). Alexander Fry placed 16th (15:55.77), Ben Vernon finished 17th (15:57.03), Dawson Welliver was 26th (16:45.49) and Manuel Valdez was 27th (16:52.78).
