GENEVA, Ohio -- Two Grove City College track and field performers competed Thursday in the opening day of action at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by SPIRE Institute. 

Senior Ryan Lenhart (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) concluded his career by placing 12th in the men's discus. In the women's 1500 meters, senior Lydia Bennett (Bethel, Maine/Gould Academy) advanced to Saturday's finals by placing third in the preliminaries Thursday afternoon.

Lenhart recorded a top throw of 153 feet, 2 inches on the third of his three throws in the preliminary flight. He entered the Championships as the No. 22 seed in the 22-man field.

The top nine men advanced to the championship flight. Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior Yakob Ekoue won the event with a best throw of 190 feet, 10 inches.

Bennett recorded a time of 4 minutes, 26.90 seconds in the 1500, claiming one of the 12 spots in Saturday's finals. She entered the meet as the sixth seed in the event. 

The 1500 meters finals will be held Saturday at 1:35 p.m.

Both Lenhart and Bennett have competed in multiple NCAA Championships during the 2024-25 academic year. Lenhart played wide receiver for the Grove City football team, which faced Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs last November. Bennett qualified for the NCAA Championships in cross country last fall, then earned All-America honors in the mile at the indoor championships in March by placing seventh overall. 

The top eight finishers in each event are award All-America honors.