By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin track and field program posted several impressive performances in its second meet of the season, but none of them were as noteworthy as the men’s DMR teams shattering the previous venue record at the Bellarmine Open on Friday held at Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Skyhawks not only dominated the men’s distance medley with both its A and B teams finishing first and second, respectively, but the two squads each shattered the venue’s previous event record of 11:44.89 by over a full minute. UT Martin’s A-team made up of Luke McNair, Andre Brown, Victor Kemboi and Will Cahill demolished the previous venue record by nearly a minute and a half with a time of 10:17.17 to win the event title. Coming in second place, the Skyhawks B-team of Cole Davis, Hawken Foote, Jack Blyth and George Payne recorded a time of 10:43.6 – also besting the previous mark.
Along with the team relay title and an individual title by long jumper Darius Holland, UT Martin saw several athletes set new personal records at the Bellarmine Open. With the two event titles, the Skyhawk men finished seventh with 49 points while the women came in ninth with 21.
The day got underway with the sprint squads under the bright lights as freshly minted Ohio Valley Conference Female Freshman of the Week JayleAna Wyatt and sophomore Janay Chapman competed in the 60m dash. After nipping at the heels of Wyatt last weekend in the opener, Chapman showed her speed by posting the best time for the Skyhawks at 7.90 seconds for a PR to finish sixth. Trailing close behind was Wyatt who finished in eighth with a PR time of 7.92 seconds.
Following a brief breather, Wyatt was back on the track in the 200m dash – an event she won at the Redhawks Invite. Competing against an increased talent pool, the freshman still impressed with a seventh-place finish at 26.59 seconds and setting a new PR.
Sophomore John Collin Askew narrowly missed out on the squad’s first individual title of the day in the men’s 400m dash. After setting a PR in the 55m dash last weekend, he continued that trend in the 400m dash with a personal-best time of 50.25 seconds to finish in second place.
The following event saw freshman Rita Eimer post a nice performance in her track debut. In an event which saw five upperclassmen finish in the top-10, Eimer claimed a seven-place finish with a time of 2:26.85 to start a promising season.
With a step up in distance on the docket, McNair and Cahill proved up to the task in their first meet of the season. After strong cross country seasons in the fall, McNair rode his pace to a fourth place finish with a time of 4:13.9 – just missing out on the program record by less than four-tenths of a second – while claiming a new PR. Meanwhile, Cahill also posted a top-10 spot with a time of 4:19.88 for a new collegiate-best.
Freshman Annie Amundsen had a nice showing in her first collegiate track meet as she competed in the women’s 3k. Amundsen ran with the lead pack throughout the race before ultimately finishing in fourth place with a time of 10:28.41.
The team’s second title came from Holland, a sophomore long jumper, who continues to impress through his young Skyhawk career. The Ripley, Tenn. native posted his best jumps of the season with three different efforts sitting good enough for first place in the meet, including the ultimate winner of 7.14 meters on his third attempt.
UT Martin will take a one week hiatus from competition before returning to the same venue on Friday, Feb. 4 to participate in the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic in Louisville, Ky.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information