By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin track and field programs got its outdoor season off on the right foot on Saturday by posting impressive performances at the Margaret Simmons Invite hosted by Murray State.
The Skyhawks came out of the gates with a lot of promise as the men’s team ranked first at the meet with 109 total points. Meanwhile, the Skyhawk women were also strong by coming in fourth place with 53 points.
In total, UT Martin claimed six event victories, including the top marks in the 800m (men’s and women’s), 1500m (men’s), 110m hurdles (men’s) and 3000m steeple (men’s and women’s).
Notable Performances
- Sophomore Hudson Hall came out on top with a first-place finish in the men’s 800m. With his time of 1:58.23, Hall set a new personal record at the meet.
- Freshman Maggie Roy also posted a first-place finish in the women’s 800m with a time of 2:18.42. The time not only led the field but also ranked as a new PR.
- Lydia Tankersley was also strong in the women’s 800m field as she finished second overall to her Skyhawk teammate with a time of 2:18.68 for a PR of her own.
- Junior Lilia Alvarez broke her own school record in the women’s 3000m steeple with a time of 11:35.5 to finish first overall. Her time bested her previous school mark by 18 seconds.
- Sophomore Sam Shuman made it a clean sweep for the Skyhawks on the men’s and women’s side of the 3000m steeple with a first-place finish in the event. Shuman recorded a time of 9:51.67 to leave the field in his dust, finishing 47 seconds faster than his closest competitor.
- Graduate Luke McNair recorded another first-place finish for the Skyhawks after pacing the 1500m field with a time of 3:55.99 while leading the pack by over four seconds.
- Freshman Ja’Kobe Ward had a well-rounded day for the Skyhawks by finishing first in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 15.15 seconds while also coming in third in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 56.46 seconds.
- The Skyhawks claimed three points for the team in the women’s 4x100m relay as the quartet of Addison Taylor, Alaina Gordon, JayleAna Wyatt and Janay Chapman finished third with a time of 47.6 seconds. The time just narrowly missed out on the school record set back in 1999 by 0.52 seconds.
- Along with posting a strong day as park of the women’s 4x100m relay team, Addison Taylor set a new PR in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 15.07 seconds.
UT Martin will return to action next weekend as the men’s distance squad will travel to the WashU Distance Carnival on Friday, March 31 while the rest of the team will head to the Joey Haines Invitational.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information