LEXINGTON, Va. (Jan. 27) – Senior Justen Burnette qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash and sophomore Tyrese Lavender reached the league qualifying mark in the weight throw, as the Trojan competed in the opening day at the VMI Winter Classic on Friday.

Burnette posted a time of 6.90 seconds in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash before qualifying for the finals after crossing the line in 6.86 to hit an NCAA standard in the event. He will compete in the event finals tomorrow, Jan. 28, at 12:20 p.m.

In the weight throw, sophomore Alex Smith-Fort'e placed third in the event with a toss of 17.01 meters. Teammate Israel Long finished fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 15.82 meters, while senior Dorian Tolbert improved his league standard after setting a mark of 15.75 meters on Friday. Lavender met the conference championship distance for the first time this year following a toss of 13.45 meters.

Mount Olive returns tomorrow, Jan. 28, to the VMI Winter Classic with over 20 events scheduled, starting at 10 a.m.