AUSTIN, Texas – The Kentucky track and field teams got plenty of what they entered into this weekend’s Texas Invitational for, amid picture perfect weather this weekend at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Viewed from any angle, the quantity of quality performances broke down in a positive light.
Kentucky won seven events outright – four on the women’s side and three on the men’s side on Saturday.
Add events in which UK had the top collegian –in those cases a professional won and a Wildcat placed second overall – and that number increased to nine.
Throw UK Class of 2015 alumna, world-record holding professional and volunteer assistant coach Kendra Harrison into the equation, and Wildcats won 11 events.
The team scores
Kentucky placed third in the team competition on the men’s and women’s sides.
Kansas State won the women’s meet with 150 points. Texas was second on 140 and UK had 128. Fourth place was 82 points.
Texas won the men’s meet with 135 points. Auburn was second with 89 and UK was third on 78, two ahead of K-State.
The meet was scored in standard NCAA format: a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis corresponding to top-eight finishes. Most of the teams entered didn’t field full teams, and didn’t, for example, double athletes who may be expected to at championship competitions.
Although the meet included unattached entries and pros, those athletes didn’t factor into scores. For example, Olivia Gruver was top collegian in the pole vault, but second overall. The winner was 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Jenn Suhr, a longtime pro, so she just didn’t receive a score and Gruver got 10 points even though she was second overall.
Outright wins
• Harrison’s hurdles season-opener may have caught the most attention going into the meet, but reigning NCAA 110m hurdles Silver Medalist Nick Anderson made sure to stand up and be counted as relates to Kentucky’s hurdling prowess on the men’s side as well.
o He won the 110m hurdles in a windy season best 13.56 (+2.3). Freshman Daniel Roberts ran a wind-assisted, albeit strong time for third in 13.75.
• Kiah Seymour bounced back from a disappointing season opener two weeks ago at Florida by winning the 400m hurdles in 56.67. That time is ranked seventh in the NCAA.
• Kentucky represented in the long jump on Saturday as well. Contesting her signature event for the first time since she won the NCAA Indoor Championship last month, Sha’keela Saunders won her outdoor opener with a slightly windy mark of 21’6.75”/6.57m (+2.1).
o While the mark wasn’t wind legal it is accepted for NCAA qualifying purposes and ranks No. 2 on the national descending order list as of Saturday evening.
• Muhammad Abubakar had a bit of a breakthrough to win the men’s long jump at 26’2.25”/7.98m w (+2.1). Had it been wind legal that mark would have broken the school record Tim Duckworth set last week.
o That mark, like Saunders’, doesn’t qualify for records but could for championships, and with not all of this weekend’s meets accounted for ranks fifth nationally.
• Michelle McKinney led a Kentucky 1-2-3 finish in the 1,500m to begin the day. She ran 4:25.76, ahead of Katy Kunc (4:27.07) and Jill Weston (4:27.15 -PB) respectively. Caroline McCaslin was sixth, and Sarah Crawford won the second section to place 10th overall.
• Winning the 4x400m relay is always an ideal way to finish a meet. The UK women’s relay of Saunders, Kayelle Clarke, Precious Hitchcock and Seymour did just that in 3:35.52.
The top collegians
• Olivia Gruver got over an outdoor PB 14’8.25″/4.48m in the pole vault to place as top collegian, second overall to the aforementioned Suhr.
o The mark bettered her outdoor school record, and was a centimeter shy of her absolute PB, which she set at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. The mark is tied for fourth best in the NCAA this outdoor season.
• Freshman Ellen Ekholm was top collegian, and second overall, in the Texas Invitational high jump with a clearance at 5’11.25”/1.81m, which tied her season best. That mark is No. 2 on the UK all-time performance list and
Harrison’s hurdles opener, plus a quick 200
• Kendra Harrison opened up 2017 in the 100m hurdles by winning at the Texas Invitational in a truly quick season-opening 12.54w (+2.3). The performance wasn’t quite the 12.36 (+1.4) she opened with a year ago, which was the fastest season opener in history: a harbinger of what was to come.
• She came back later to win the 200m against a pretty strong field in 22.85w (+2.5).
Other notable performances
• 2015 SEC Champion Justin Kretchmer placed third in the high jump with his best clearance as a collegian 7’0.5”/2.15m.
• Javianne Oliver was third in the 100m in 11.26w (+2.6).
• Jackie Howell finished fourth in the 100m hurdles in 13.20w (+2.3).
• UK volunteer assistant Kori Carter won the Mt. Sac Relays 400m hurdles in her season debut in that event with a time of 55.79.
• Class of 2014 alumnus and 2016 Olympian Andrew Evans competed at two discus meets tossing the No. 4 mark in the world this year 214’6″/65.38m in Long Beach and also winning the Mt. SAC Relays.
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Saturday
UK Results
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Men’s
Discus
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6.
Charles Lenford Jr.: 166’8”/50.81m
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Women’s
Pole Vault
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2. Olivia Gruver: 14’8.25”/4.48m
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Women’s
1500m
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1.
Michelle McKinney: 4:25.76
2.
Katy Kunc: 4:27.07
3.
Jill Weston: 4:27.15 – PB
6.
Caroline McCaslin: 4:31.41
10.
Sarah Crawford: 4:45.96
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Men’s
1500m
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6.
Lou Styles: 3:51.83
9.
Brennan Fields: 3:52.18
30.
Kendall Muhammad: 4:04.23
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Men’s
High Jump
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3. Justin Kretchmer: 7’0.5”/2.15m
5. Xaivier McAllister:
6’9.25”/2.07m
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Women’s
Discus
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10.
Nicole Fautsch: 148’7”/45.30m
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Men’s
800m
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4. Ian Jones: 1:51.26
17. Alex Carrabre:
1:56.21
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Women’s
100m Hurdles
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1.
Kendra Harrison (UK class of 2015): 12.54w (+2.3)
4.
Jackie Howell: 13.20w (+2.3)
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Men’s
110m Hurdles
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1. Nick Anderson:
13.56w (+2.3)
3. Daniel Roberts:
13.75w (+2.3)
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Women’s
High Jump
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2.
Ellen Ekholm: 5’11.25”/1.81m | Tied her previous season best for No. 2 UK
all-time performers’ list
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Women’s
Long Jump
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1. Sha’keela Saunders:
21’6.75”/6.57m w (+2.1)
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Men’s
Long Jump
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1.
Mohammed Abubakar: 26’2.25”/7.98m w (+2.1) | All-conditions school record
Fred
Dorsey: foul
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Women’s
100m
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3. Javianne Oliver:
11.26w (+2.6)
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Women’s
400m Hurdles
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1.
Kiah Seymour: 56.67
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Men’s
400m Hurdles
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10. Will Walker: 54.09
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Women’s
Shot Put
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17.
Nicole Fautsch: 41’3.75”/12.59m
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Men’s
Shot Put
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4. Charles Lenford Jr.:
55’8.25”/16.97m
5. Noah Castle: 55’8.25”/16.97m
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Women’s
200m
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1.
Kendra Harrison: 22.85w (+2.5)
3.
Javianne Oliver: 22.99w (+3.5)
4.
Kayelle Clarke: 23.11w (+2.5)
8.
Precious Hitchcock: 23.38w (+2.5)
17.
Jacklyn Howell: 24.31w (+3.5)
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Women’s
4x400m Relay
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1. UK (Saunders,
Clarke, Hitchcock, Seymour): 3:35.51
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Men’s
4x400m Relay
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7.
UK (Dorsey, Anderson, Roberts, Jones): 3:17.00
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Friday
UK Results
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Men’s
Hammer Throw
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8.
David Cline: 210’4”/61.45m
11.
Logan Bryer: 201’5”/61.39m
16.
Charles Lenford Jr.: 173’3”/52.82m
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Women’s
Hammer Throw
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4. Brandi Walker:
193’6”/58.99m | PR by four inches
18. Nicole Fautsch: 148’9”/45.35m
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Women’s
Javelin
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7.
Sarah Blake: 140’1”/42.71m
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Women’s
Triple Jump
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2. Marie-Josée Ebwea-Bile:
43’7.75”/13.30m (+1.4) | Outdoor season-best, No. 2 UK performers’ list
14. Sha’keela Saunders:
39’10.5”/12.15m (+3.1)
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Men’s
Javelin
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4.
Ethan Shalaway: 210’07”/64.18m
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Women’s
3k Steeplechase
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4. Amy Hansen: 10:54.29
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Men’s
3k Steeplechase
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2.
Gabe Harm: 9:12.24
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