Moon Township, Pa. - The throwers of the Robert Morris University men's outdoor track & field team highlighted the latest meet of the 2011 season for the Colonials, as three different student-athletes won individual championships at the James Madison Open Invitational.

Sophomores Steve Mitchell (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and Collin Ray (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area) and freshman Chris Carper (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) claimed gold for RMU in the shot put, discus and javelin, respectively. 

Mitchell finished with a toss of 15.61 meters (51'2.75") to win the shot put and qualify for the IC4A/ECAC Championships as four Colonials finished in the top five in the event. Ray finished second with a toss of 15.21 meters (49'11"), while sophomores Brendan Morales (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) and Charles Thurner-Diaz (Camp Hill, Pa. / Camp Hill) finished third and fifth, respectively.

Morales finished with a throw of 15.03 meters (49'3.75"), while Thurner-Diaz notched a final tally of 14.42 meters (47'3.75").

Mitchell also finished second in the hammer throw with a toss of 49.66 meters (162'11"), trailing Zach Jordan of William & Mary, who won the event with a mark of 51.37 meters (168'06"). Morales finished third in the hammer (47.55 meters), while Thurner-Diaz finished fourth (45.69 meters).

In the discus, Ray won the event with a throw of 45.79 meters (150'03"), while Morales earned bronze with a toss of 41.63 meters (136'07").

Carper paced Robert Morris in the javelin with a toss of 62.00 meters (203'05"), while fellow freshman Jackson Corcoran (Ligonier, Pa. / Ligonier Valley) finished second with a throw of 56.89 meters (186'08").

Sophomore Michael Feldbauer (Saint Mary's, Pa. / Saint Mary's Area) took home fourth in the event thanks to a throw of 47.34 meters (155'04").

Freshman Fred Thompson (Turtle Creek, Pa. / Woodland Hills) led the track events for RMU by winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:56.25. Thompson defeated Jason Skipper of Richmond by over five seconds, who crossed the finish line with a time of 10:01.85.

The Robert Morris 4x400-meter relay team that consisted of freshmen Jermaine Dwight (Wyncote, Pa. / Cheltenham Township), Nicolas Gentile (Sarver, Pa. / Freeport) and Dorian Rumble (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn Hills) and senior T.J. Green (Stamford, Conn. / Milford Academy) finished first with a time of 3:24.31.

Gentile posted the best time by a collegian in the 400-meter dash at the James Madison Open Invite by crossing the finish line with a time of 49.68 seconds, while Rumble finished right behind Gentile in a time of 52.27.

Carper also took home bronze in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.47 seconds, and sophomore Lance Washington (East Stroudsburg, Pa. / Stroudsburg) finished third in the triple jump thanks to a leap of 13.99 meters (45'10.75"). 

RMU closes out the month of April with its final tuneup for the 2011 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships by taking part in the Paul Kaiser Classic, hosted by Shippensburg, Saturday, April 30.