SALEM, Va. (Jan. 20) – Senior sprinter Justen Burnette set a new season-best time in the 60-meter dash while reaching the NCAA Standard to advance to the finals, as the Trojans started the two-day event at the Finn Pincus Invitational hosted by Roanoke.

Burnette hit the NCAA provisional mark in the 60-meter dash semifinals with a time of 6.83 seconds, which is two-hundredths of a second faster than his time set earlier this season. He placed second in the semifinals after advancing out of the prelims following a time of 6.91. Burnette is scheduled to compete in the 60m finals tomorrow, Jan. 21, at 2:10 p.m. He continues to hold the fastest time in the event in the Conference Carolinas this year.

Junior QuVontre Harper also established a personal record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.03 in the semifinals of the event to finish in 12th. He advanced out of the preliminaries on Friday after posting a time of 7.06.

In the high jump, sophomore Demonte Lavender collected a second-place finish and matched his season-best mark of 1.95m (6-4.75 feet), which ranks second in the league. Junior Kamden Johnson finishes fifth after clearing 1.90m (6-2.75 feet), while freshman Josh Manning hit the conference qualifying mark for the first time this season with a mark of 1.85m (6-0.75 feet) to place eighth overall.

The Trojans continue to compete at the Finn Pincus Invitational on Saturday with 27 events scheduled to take place tomorrow in Virginia, starting at 10 a.m.