"We both knew we were going to run fast today. We were ready," Goule said following the race. "That was a fast race today. We train together every day, so we both know what we're capable of in that kind of a race. We went out and did exactly what we wanted to do today. I'm glad I get to train with Charlene so we can keep pushing each other."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Vanderbilt track and field team wrapped-up competition at the Indiana Relays on Saturday, January 26, with Head Coach Steve Keith calling the results one of the best performances during his tenure.
"Overall, this was the best top-to-bottom performance by a Vanderbilt track team in my seven years," Keith said. "A couple of school records, more personal bests and a number of top 10 performances. We're starting to perform at a very high level."
Day two action was highlighted by junior Brionne Williams tying the school record in the high jump. Williams cleared 1.83 meters (six feet) to finish second in the high jump. Williams has been between five feet, 11 inches and six feet in all three meets this season.
"Brionne's effort of 6-0 moves her up on the national list," Keith said. "She has been incredibly consistent this seaosn."
Also in the high jump, Ellie Tidman placed third clearing 1.77 meters (five feet, 9.75 inches).
Janetra Gleaves reached the finals of the 60 meter hurdles and placed sixth. The sophomore ran 8.78 in the semifinals to reach the finals. She then ran 8.65 in the finals to finish sixth.
"We're getting closer to a complete race from Janetra with a much improved start and first couple of hurdles," Keith said.
Grace Orders was in the field for the 5,000 meter invitational. Orders was sixth in 17:22.10.
Vanderbilt runners were also very solid in the open 5,000, placing second, third and fourth. Vanessa Valentine led the way in 17:38.58, followed by Megan Yohe in 17:46.90 and Claire Benjamin in 17:53.09.
In the 800 meters invitiational, Sara Barron, fresh off a school record in the mile on Friday, finished ninth in 2:13.39. Outside the invitational, Katherine Delaney was 10th in the 800 meters, crossing the line in 2:16.00. She barely edged Kristen Findley to finish in the top-10, as Findley crossed in 2:16.02.
Faith Washington placed 11th in the 400 meters, posting at time of 57.10.
Next up for Vanderbilt is a trip to New York City for the Armory Collegiate Classic in uptown Manhattan on February 1-2.
"This two-day meet (in Indiana), along with New York next week, are great preparation for the SEC Indoor Championships in four weeks," Keith said. "Staying healthy and being consistent is the key. We do that and we'll continue to see some big improvements."
Hamilton Highlights UGA's Day at Razorback Invite
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Georgia sophomore Carly Hamilton set a school record in the 3000-meter Invitational to highlight the second day of the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
Hamilton’s finish gave the Lady Bulldogs two school records on the weekend and gave the Georgia program five victories in just its second indoor meet of the year.
In the team scoring, the Georgia men finished fourth with 63 points while the Lady Bulldogs were fifth (78).
“This was a really good meet for us and probably one of the best meets in January in history,” said Georgia head coach Wayne Norton. “It makes us thing immediately about coming back to this meet again next year since we did so well. Overall, I’m really happy about this weekend.”
Building on her strong cross country season, sophomore Carly Hamilton left a 23-year-old school record far behind in the 3000 Invitational to take third. Hamilton completed her laps in 9:20.89.
This topped Jolly Earle’s school record mark of 9:23.10 set during the 1990 season. It was the first time Hamilton had run this distance during her indoor collegiate career. Hamilton’s school record was the second of the weekend after Hilenn James set the all-time shot put mark on Friday.
“This was another case of one of our top people doing something noteworthy,” Norton said. “After the race, we looked at the clock and realized she had run a pretty good time. More importantly, she ran well for the whole race and looked good doing it.”
The Bulldog heptathletes rounded out their two-day competition in second, third and fourth place. True freshman Maicel Uibo shot to No. 2 in Georgia’s record books after taking second with 5,755 points.
Sophomore Garrett Scantling tallied a 138-point personal-best effort to score 5,619 points and take third in the competition. Like Uibo, fellow true freshman Devon Williams was competing in his first collegiate heptathlon and took fourth with the seventh-most points (5,376) in Bulldog history.
“The group is a young, inexperience crew who competed hard and did a lot of things correct and proper in this heptathlon,” Norton said. “If they continue to get better, this group could really be something special.”
Uibo highlighted his events by claiming a win in the 1000. The Polva, Estonia, native ran a 2:43.08 (839 points), which was four seconds faster than the next finisher. Uibo added another 852 points in the pole vault when he took second with a clearance of 15-9.25.
Scantling paced his attack by taking third in both the 60 hurdles and the pole vault with personal-best performances. In the hurdles, Scantling scorched his career best after leaning across the finish line in 8.27. The Jacksonville, Fla., native then broke 15 feet in the pole vault for the first time in his career. He cleared 15-5.50 to finish one spot behind Uibo.
The fourth-place finisher, Devon Williams, showcased his speed by registering the sixth-best time in the 60 hurdles in school history to win the event. Williams bolted across the line in 8.04 to pick up 972 points. Williams was fifth in both the 1000 and the pole vault to solidify his finish.
Junior Stella Christoforou made her season debut in the mile and picked up a victory with the fastest time of her career. Christoforou clocked a 4:48.87 to finish four seconds ahead of the nearest competitor with the sixth-best time in school history.
“Like Carly’s performance, Stella looked in control and ran a complete race, which was even more important than looking up and seeing 4:48 on the clock,” said Norton.
Senior Matt Cleaver opened his final indoor campaign by earning runner-up honors in the 3000. Cleaver finished in 8:11.70 to beat 26 other competitors in the race.
In the regular 3000 race, senior Morgan VanGorder bettered her personal best to record a 9:50.13 for third place while sophomore Sarah Perry was fourth (9:55.65).
Also in the mile, senior Leslie Boozer followed up her victory in the 5000 with a seventh-place finish after breaking 5:00 for the first time in her career (4:57.93).
Sophomore Tynia Gaither ended up fourth in the 60 finals with a season-best time of 7.49. This was the second-best time of her career.
“Placing that high against a bunch of super-fast sprinters is a good sign that Tynia will be ready to roll when the SEC meet gets here,” Norton said. “Once she gets in her rhythm and the freshmen get rolling, this sprint group has the potential to be special.”
Sophomore Justin Scott-Wesley highlighted the men’s 60 finals after taking seventh with a time of 6.79. Scott-Wesley, who serves as a Bulldog receiver during the fall football season, tied with the third-best time (6.75) in school history during the prelims.
“This weekend will only be a confidence builder for Justin for the rest of this season,” said Norton. “He had three good times in two days and it will be nice to have him in the lineup.”
During the women’s weight throw, junior Elizabeth Tepe improved more than eight feet to take seventh with a mark of 58-8.75. This bumps her from ninth to eighth on Georgia’s all-time list.
“(Elizabeth) has only thrown the weight two times so she is another case of if she continues to build on this, she will help us get better as a team and do something special,” Norton said.
Georgia returns to action at the Akron Invitational in Akron, Ohio, on Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2.
Tennessee Wins Five in College Station
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Tennessee track & field team collected five victories and six runner-up finishes, while also providing 37 other point-producing performances Saturday at the Texas A&M Mondo Challenge - a conference battle between the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 - at Gilliam Indoor Stadium in College Station, Texas.
The Vols and Lady Vols joined forces with meet-host Texas A&M to represent the SEC, which won both the men's and women's conference showdowns. The Big Orange and Aggies combined for 317 points on the men's side and tallied 324 in the women's competition.
The Big 12, which was represented by TCU and Texas Tech, scored 137 points in the men's challenge and 136 points in the women's. The Pac-12, united by Arizona State and USC, finished second in the women's challenge with 152 points and third in the men's with 75. The USC men did not compete.
On his first attempt at 17 feet, 4 1/4-inches (5.29m), freshman pole vaulter Jacob Blankenship, who set the UT freshman record in the event earlier this season, cleared the mark to take first place and set a meet record at the annual Texas A&M Mondo Challenge. Blankenship's teammates Chase Brannon and Tyler Porter placed fourth and fifth in the event, respectively.
In the men's shot put, redshirt freshman Tavis Bailey bested his previous personal-record with a 60-foot 1/4-inch toss to win the event. Bailey's mark is the 10th-best in UT indoor history and ranks 15th in the nation this season. Sophomore Matthew Hoty - the freshman record holder in the shot put - placed third with a mark of 57-3 3/4.
Completing the field events for the Vols, senior Drew Thomas notched the top toss of his UT career in the men's weight throw. Thomas took third place with a mark of 59-7, good for 12th in the Tennessee indoor record book. Freshman Cameron Brown earned four points for the SEC with a fifth-place finish in the event.
Tennessee posted a 1-2 finish in the men's 3000m, as Austin Whitelaw and Peter Okwera crossed the line within .15 seconds of each other. Whitelaw navigated the banked track in a personal-record 8 minutes, 20.45 seconds to win the event, while Okwera came in at 8:20.60.
Sophomore Jamol James finished with the top time in the men's 60m preliminaries, and took second place in the finals with a mark of 6.74 seconds.
The Lady Vols' had a big day on the oval, with three crossing the line in the mile in under five minutes. Freshman Alexis Panisee won the mile in 4:53.49, while senior Kelsey Kane came in second place just behind her teammate in a personal-record 4:53.73. Sophomore Amirah Johnson earned five points for the league with a fourth-place finish in her first sub-five minute mile. Johnson recorded a 4:59.41 readout.
Newcomer Hannah Davidson, a graduate student transfer, took first place in the women's 3000m in 9:44.19, while junior Amber Zimmerman added a third-place mark of 9:49.12 in the event. Sophomores Kianna Ruff and Brittney Jackson also scored for UT, placing second and fourth, respectively, in the 800m.
A week after setting the school record in the women's pole vault, junior Linda Hadfield placed second at Texas A&M with a vault of 13-2 1/4 on her first attempt at the height. That mark is tied for second in UT's indoor record book. After a personal-record performance last week, sophomore Erin Champion finished third with a vault of 12-4 3/4.
To conclude the field events, rookie thrower Cassie Wertman bested her career-best from last week at Virginia Tech with a second-place shot put toss of 51-8 1/2. Senior Jessie Harrison contributed six points with a weight throw toss of 58-7 1/4.
Tennessee returns to action next weekend in New York City, as the Vols and Lady Vols compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at The Armory on Friday and Saturday.
Arkansas Wins Five at Home Invite
FAYETTEVILLE – On the final day of competition at the Razorback Team Invitational, the No. 1 University of Arkansas men’s track and field team posted a school record and five event wins on their way to finishing first in the team standings. The Razorbacks finished the two-day invitational with 124 points and six total wins, including Friday’s win by Andrew Irwin in the pole vault.
“First and foremost, we won the meet,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “We put a lot of points up on the board. I think it shows a bit about the amount of talent we have on the team and the depth we have. This was a great group of programs here so to put that many points on the board, I’m very pleased with that especially at the end of a tough three-week run for us to start the season. I’m happy with the total result.”
Arkansas’ wins Saturday came from Akheem Gauntlett at 400 meters, Patrick Rono at 800 meters, Caleb Cross in the 60-meter hurdles, Tarik Batchelor in the triple jump and Kevin Lazas in the heptathlon. Lazas also broke the school record with his two-day performance.
Entering the day with a 192-point lead over the field, Lazas extended his lead throughout the day and finished the two-day, seven-event competition with a school-record 6,042 points. His score also represents the best mark in the NCAA this season. Lazas surpassed the school record of 6,022 points set last year at this meet by teammate Gunnar Nixon. With his performance this weekend, Lazas became just the eighth collegiate heptathlete to top 6,000 points and is now No. 6 on the all-time collegiate performer list.
“I’m definitely happy,” Lazas said. “For this to be the first (heptathlon) of the year, there’s nothing more you can ask for. I wanted to get a score that would get me into the national meet. I did that and the school record came with it so overall, I’m really happy. I know there is more in the tank to save for bigger scores in the bigger meets.”
The Razorbacks placed four inside the top 11 of the 400 meters, led by event winner Gauntlett. Running in the final section, he raced out to a time of 46.44 which is the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season based on times entering the weekend. He was joined in the top 11 by Neil Braddy (47.39) in eighth place, Eric Janise (47.39) in ninth and Anton Kokorin (47.46) in 11th.
Cross was the third overall qualifier during the semifinal round of the 60-meter hurdles. He finished second in his heat with a time of 7.83 to advance to the championship race. In the event final, the Newport, Ark., out-leaned Eddie Lovett of Florida to win the event with a season-best time of 7.69, just .01 ahead of his SEC counterpart. Cross’ time is now the third-best effort in the NCAA this year.
The middle-distance crew was led by a first-place performance from Rono in the invitational section of the 800 meters. His winning time of 1:48.98 is a season best for the Razorback sophomore and is currently ranked fourth in the country. Rono was one of three scorers in the event for Arkansas to go along with Ryan Thomas at 1:49.48 in third place and Tomas Squella at 1:50.77 in eighth.
In his second triple jump competition of the season, Batchelor posted a win Saturday with a winning mark of 16.37m/53-8.5. Having safely qualified for the final round of jumps, the Razorback senior posted his first-place measurement in his fifth jump of the day. Batchelor had the two best jumps in the field as his last jump of the day—16.32m/53-6.5—would have placed second overall.
The Razorbacks capped their weekend with a second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. The foursome of Braddy, Gauntlett, Kokorin and Travis Southard combined for a season-best time of 3:06.26, the fifth-fastest relay showing in program history. Arkansas’ time is also the fourth fastest in the NCAA this season. The top three times in the country all reside within the SEC.
Arkansas returns to action next weekend with a trip to New York for the Armory Collegiate Invitational. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Fans can also keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter pages.
Fieldhouse Record Highlights Last Day of UK Invite
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky fans inside Nutter Field House witnessed a mostly ho-hum day of results on Saturday. That was until just four events remained on the program.
Without an individual or relay victory over two days at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet, by late Saturday afternoon it was looking as though the women’s 3,000 meters would be the Wildcats’ best – if not only – shot at a top finish.
In reality the race did not disappoint nor did the rest of the day as the Wildcats would go on to win three events – all within the final hour of the meet
“We are still yet a work and progress,” head coach Edrick Floreal said. “There are a few people who are really moving forward. The people who have already made up their mind to be great continue to be great, but we need some more.
“We still have more people with a lot of potential that just need to make up their mind. Decide to dare to be great. Dare to take that leap of faith to see what they’re made of, but I remain resilient. We are going to find a way to do this.”
Cally Macumber continued her assault on the Kentucky record books as she won the 3K, breaking the Nutter Field House record in personal record time.
Macumber and her fellow cross country All-American Chelsea Oswald treated the crowd to one of the best runs in the nation this season. Macumber’s time of 9:10.34 is currently the fastest 3K in the nation this season as of Saturday evening. The performance is also the third-best in school history.
Oswald’s second-place time of 9:19.01 also broke the McCravy Meet record and is No. 7 in the country.
With five entries in the heat, the Wildcats boasted the class of the field, and before the gun even sounded meet announcer Dennis McNulty told the crowd as much. More importantly women’s distance coach Hakon DeVries took advantage of the depth.
“I was really pleased with all four of the girls (Macumber, Oswald, Anna Bostrom and Hiruni Wijayaratne),” DeVries said. “All of them got PRs. Cally got the facility record and the third fastest time in school history. There’s a really rich history of women’s distance running here, and there’s definitely more to come out of all four of them.
“It’s definitely setting ourselves up well to progress through the season, and hopefully do some big things for the team at SECs.”
Allison Peare paced her teammates out to a lead from the first lap going out so fast that by the 1K split it was clearly a two person race between Macumber and Oswald.
The All-American duo kept pushing one another, so hard in fact, that by the 2K split it was clear that the facility record would be brought into question.
Macumber answered the question emphatically heading down the final straightaway. The indoor senior accelerated to open her lead, and kicked with everything she had to set a new Nutter record, and by extension shatter the McCravy meet ceiling by more than 11 seconds.
The excitement of the women’s race seemed to inspire the men’s distance runners. Matt Hillenbrand was next on the track in the men’s 3K and he won in his first collegiate race at that distance with a time of 8:10.04. The time ranks ninth-fastest in the nation as of Saturday evening.|
The women’s 4x400 meter relay team then made it three straight race wins as Angelica Whaley, Shiara Robinson, Devinn Cartwright and Morganne Phillips took their heat comfortably in 3:43.81 as the time stood up through four more flights.
Kayla Parker took third in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, and was the second-highest collegiate finisher as she set a new PR 8.38 in the prelims.
Kadeem Kushimo boasted some impressive finishes considering his busy schedule of events on Saturday as he placed second with a PR 6.75 in the men’s 60m and fourth in the 400m. He was also part of a men’s 4x400 team also featuring Ben Mason, Keith Hayes and Brandon Bagley that won its heat.
The Kentucky throwers continued a strong string of placements to start the season as Bradley Szypka and Isiah Kent went 2-3 in the shot put. Szypka threw 18.12m/59-05.5 and Kent threw 17.59m/57-0.0.
The meet is named in honor of its namesake, a former Kentucky track athlete who died in 1987 at the age of 19 while sleeping in his dorm room.
Only a sophomore at the time of his passing, McCravy had already become one of the team's leaders. A social work major, Rod is remembered as a dedicated, enthusiastic athlete who was a conscientious student and outstanding human being. He set the then-UK freshman record in the 400 hurdles and finished sixth at the TAC National Junior Championships. A meet named in Rod's honor enables the Kentucky track and field family to remember him, as well as provide an on-going opportunity to speak to UK athletes about his impact on the program and those he surrounded.