GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- The Kenyon College outdoor men's track and field team opened up its time at the 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, the first of two days competing in the meet. Kenyon scored in the only two running events on the docket, and four Owls runners combined for 12 points to put the team eighth through the first day at DePauw University's Blackstock Stadium.

Kenyon wasted little time getting in the scoring column as the Owls added points in the meet's first and longest event, the 10,000-meter race. Joshua Breard finished the race with a time of 32:29.60, good for sixth in the 19-runner field. The mark was a collegiate-best for the junior, who finished just over a second faster than his previous top time of 32:30.96, set three weeks ago at the All-Ohio Championships.

Friday's session saw mostly preliminary races on the slate, with a handful of field events mixed in. Kenyon's best field finishes came from juniors Ezekiel Kiwanuka, who finished 12th in the long jump, and J'Sun Gardner, who was 15th in the shot put. Between the unscored preliminaries and a lack of top-eight finishes in four field events, the Owls had to wait until the evening's final race to tack on more points.

Despite the drought, Kenyon showed up in a big way in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Three Owls finished within the top seven as the trio of Owen Rodstrom, Peter Bernhardt, and Colt Murphy placed fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Rodstrom ran the fastest race, clocking in at 9:43.98 for four points. Bernhardt (9:45.57) and Murphy (9:47.94) were close behind, and the duo combined for five total points. Both Bernhardt, a senior, and Murphy, a junior, set new collegiate-best times with their finishes.

Saturday's NCAC Championships schedule features many more scoring opportunities for the Owls. The competition starts with field events at 10 a.m. and running events at 2:15 p.m.