LEXINGTON, Va. (Jan. 26) – Senior Alex Smith-Fort'e reached an NCAA Standard in the weight throw, as the University of Mount Olive men's track & field team competed on the opening day of the VMI Invitational on Friday.

Smith-Fort'e claimed first place in the weight throw and improved his distance to 18.55 meters (60-10.50 feet) on his final attempt. He holds a top-25 mark in NCAA Division II in the event and remains the top performer in the Southeast Region this indoor season. It also marks back-to-back event wins in the weight throw after collecting the victory at the Finn Pincus Invitational last week.

Additionally, in the weight throw, senior Dorian Tolbert placed second overall and improved his conference standard with a toss of 16.99 meters (55-9.00 feet), which ranks third all-time at Mount Olive. He ranks second in the Southeast Region and the Conference Carolinas in the event. Junior Israel Long placed fifth in the weight throw with a mark of 15.69 meters (51-5.75 feet). Sophomore Tyrese Lavender delivered a personal-best distance of 15.54 meters (51-0.00 feet) to finish sixth overall in the event. Freshman Matthew Heywood placed seventh following a toss of 14.95 meters (49-0.75 feet) while competing in Virginia.

Freshman Evan Hall registered a 10th-place finish in the 5000 meters after posting a time of 16:08.93.

Sophomore Zyshone White hit the league qualifying mark in the long jump for the first time this season with a personal-best mark of 6.47 meters (21-2.75 feet).

Mount Olive continues to compete at the VMI Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 27, with events scheduled to start at 9 a.m.