MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - - Akeel Blake won a pair of events and finished second in a third to lead the Wilmington University men's and women's track and field teams at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge this weekend, hosted by Coastal Carolina.

The men earned 63 total points and finished sixth overall while the women picked up 19 points and finished 13^th overall.

DAY 1:

The first day of the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge went well for the Wildcats, as they had a combined seven individuals and relays earned points for their respective teams. After 15 events on Friday, the men were sitting in fifth with 20 points while the women were in ninth with 13 points.

For the second weekend in a row, Akeel Blake won the long jump event, leaping to first place with a distance of 7.00 meters. He earned the Wildcats 10 points, with the second place jumper going a distance of 6.83 meters.

Josh Varghese finished fifth overall in the men's hammer throw, earning four points with a day's best toss of 43.94 meters. Dan Wyshinski added four more points as well to the men's side with a 7^th place finish, but fifth among counted runners, in the 5,000 meter race. He finished in 15:41.01.

Rounding out the points for the men on Friday was the 4x800 meter relay team, finishing eighth overall for two points. The team of Mike Dowd, Logan Strouse, Jared Cushlanis, and Raymon Gonzalez crossed the line in 8:25.27.

On the women's side, Fraja Olofsson led the Wildcats with a second place finish in the women's hammer, setting a new program record with a toss of 41.54 meters for eight points. Viviana Caamano also helped the Wildcats with one point in the event, finishing eighth overall with a day's best toss of 36.87 meters.

The final four points on Friday came from the women's 4x200-meter relay team, as they finished fifth overall. The combination of Kharonay Brown, Jalah Turner, Alicia Whyte, and Temi Mustapha ran the two laps in 1:50.88.

Another result of note for the Lady Wildcats on Friday was the 800-meter open event, as freshman Tiffany Banning won the event with a time of 2:24.19. Alicia Whyte also rain and finished in eighth overall with a time of 2:43.96.

DAY 2:

Akeel Blake again stole the show on Saturday, leading the men with 18 more points, winning the high jump and finishing second in the triple jump. He helped lead the men to a sixth place finish with 63 points overall. The women finished 13^th overall with 19 points for the meet.

Blake went even higher than last weekend to win the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.93 meters for 10 points. He then went to the pit and produced a triple jump of 14.27 meters, finishing second for eight points, finishing behind AJ McKay from Coastal Carolina with a jump of 15.08 meters.

Raymon Gonzalez picked up 14 points on his own as well on Saturday, finishing second in the 3,000-meter race and third overall in the 800-meter race. He earned eight points in the 3,000-meter event with a time of 9:02.50 and six more points with a third place finish in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:57.91.

Joshua Varghese also earned points on Saturday with a fifth place finish (four points) in the discus throw. He sent the disk a distance of 42.29 meters, improving upon his first meet throw of 40.12 meters last weekend.

Bradley Spence earned three points for the Wildcats as well, finishing sixth overall in the 400-meter hurdles event. He crossed the line in 56.71, improving upon his time from last weekend by over three seconds.

Freja Olofsson scored the only six points for the Wildcats on Saturday, bringing her weekend total to 14 points. She improved upon her throw from last weekend, tossing the disc 36.19 meters on Saturady for a third place finish and six points.

Kharonay Brown was a position shy of earning points for the Wildcats in the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in ninth overall with a time of 1:10.75.

Slippery Rock won the men's side with 126.6 points on the weekend while host Coastal Carolina won the women's meet with a score of 126 points.

The Wildcats once again head for warmer weather next weekend for their next meet, as they will compete in the VWU Spring Break Invitational, hosted by Virginia Wesleyan in Virginia Beach, Virginia.