UKTF Women’s Team Wins National Relays Title

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kentucky women’s team won the 4×100-meter and 4x400m relays on Saturday, eventually pulling way to win the inaugural National Relays Championship team title by 14 points at John McDonnell Field.

The UK men’s team placed third in the team scoring with 27 points. Arkansas won the men’s team title with 52, and Florida was second with 43.

Running the 4x100m relay lineup of Sydney McLaughlin, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Kayelle Clarke and Kianna Gray, UK won easily with a season-best time of 42.84, third best in the nation this season. The time ranks No. 3 on the UK all-time list.

Three of the four members of the UK 4×1 came back to win the 4×4 by an even bigger margin, sealing the team title. Faith Ross (52.60) joined Camacho-Quinn (51.40), McLaughlin (49.47) and Clarke (52.79) to win in 3:27.07. UK’s season-best of 3:26.92 at the Florida Relays was the only faster time in the nation this season.

The meet awarded points in relay events only on the traditional NCAA 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with the team with the most points at the end of the meet winning.

“This format made it all about the team,” UK head coach Edrick Floreal said. “It made it about sacrifice and coming together to try and win a championship. That’s what we’re all about. Obviously Sydney and Camacho-Quinn took care of big-time business and that made it really special.

“We have some people on this team who have heart beyond measure. That’s something we can build on. Hopefully we can get that to catch fire, have more people join in.”

McLaughlin won her 400m hurdles season debut in a nation-leading, world junior record 53.60 on Friday. Camacho-Quinn won the 100m hurdles in a windy nation-leading 12.53w (+2.6), and ran a 200m PB 22.69. Ross ran a season-best in the 400m hurdles on Friday, and Clarke’s 4x400m relay anchor leg was one of the fastest of her career.

The UK women’s 4x200m relay of Janie O’Connor, Jacklyn Howell, Jasmine Mitchell and Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile placed third in 1:34.89 to score six points.

UK’s women’s DMR of Katy Kunc, Kianna Gray, Sarah Crawford and Michelle McKinney put UK in strong position going into the meet-concluding 4x400m relay, scoring five points with a fourth-place time of 11:36.72.

UK’s men’s 4x100m relay of Daniel Roberts, Dwight St. Hillaire, Fred Dorsey III and Timothy Duckworth won the first heat, and placed third overall in 39.35, which ranks No. 10 in the NCAA this year.

UK’s men’s DMR of Ben Young, Ian Jones, Brennan Fields and Matthew Thomas placed fifth in 9:42.39 to score four points.

Saturday field recap
Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile and Florida’s Yanis David went back and forth in the best multi-athlete triple jump competition in the collegiate ranks to date this outdoor season. Ebwea-Bile leapt to an absolute personal best (indoor and outdoor) 45’11.25″/14.00m in the third round, which at the time was the No. 2 mark in the nation this year.

Ebwea-Bile’s mark was three and a half inches past her indoor PB, and more than a foot better than her prior outdoor best.

David reached a mark of 46’4.25″/14.13m in the fourth round to take the lead. David became the No. 7 performer all-time. They will meet in two weeks at the Southeastern Conference Championships as the Nos. 2 and 3 performers in the nation, while NCAA leader (Georgia senior) Keturah Orji will be the favorite.

Charles Lenford Jr. improved his personal best by more than two feet, placing fourth in the men’s shot put with a mark of 62’8.75″/19.12m. That mark moved him to No. 6 on the UK all-time list.
 
Nicole Fautsch placed sixth in the women’s shot put with an outdoor PB 45’11.25″/14.00m, moving to No. 7 on the UK all-time list.

David Cline placed eighth in the men’s hammer throw, tossing a mark of 209’2″/63.75m.

Friday wins
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn began the day for Kentucky by on the track by winning the 100-meteer hurdles. Her wind-aided time of 12.53w (+2.6) is the fastest on the TFRRS NCAA Preliminary Championships qualifying list this season (accepts times with tail winds slower than 4 meters/second). It was the fourth-fastest wind-aided (wind greater than 2.0 m/s) and the eighth-fastest all-conditions time in history. Camacho-Quinn came back to place second in the women’s 200m with a PB of 22.69 (+1.6), which ranks No. 4 on the UK all-time list.

Then Daniel Roberts won the men’s 110m hurdles in a PB 13.53 (+1.4), which ranks No. 2 on the UK all-time list and No. 5 in the NCAA this season.
 
In perhaps the most anticipated event debut in collegiate history Sydney McLaughlin delivered, as she has all year, lowering her world junior record to 53.60 in the 400m hurdles. It was the fastest time ever by a collegiate underclassman, and No. 4 on the collegiate all-time list. Faith Ross won the heat prior in a season best 58.28.

Ellen Ekholm tied her personal best clearing 6’0″/1.83m to win the high jump with the best mark of the sophomore’s collegiate career. That mark ranks No. 7 in the NCAA this year, and No. 2 on the UK all-time performers’ list.

UK Class of 2017 alumna Sha’Keela Saunders won the invitational women’s long jump with a season-opening mark of 21’7.5″/6.59m. Marie-Josee Ebwea Bile placed fourth with a mark of 20’7.75″/6.29m.
 
The Friday Relay breakdown
Kentucky’s men’s 4×1,500m relay of Brennan Fields, Jacob Thomson, Michael Thomas and Ben Young) ran a school-record 15:14.38, 18th fastest in collegiate history, but the home Razorbacks were able to catch Young on the final straightaway at the line to take the 10 points.

Then in the men’s sprint medley relay (1,600m), Tim Duckworth (200m), Fred Dorsey III (200m), Dwight St. Hillaire (400m) and Ian Jones (800m) caught Florida just at the line, but lost out on the photo again, this time with the timers having to go to the thousandths of a second. UK’s time of 3:16.94 was again a school record and No. 22 on the all-time collegiate list.
 
UK’s women’s 4x1500m relay of Kunc, Crawford, Bussjager and Shepard scored six points with a third-place time of 18:22.51.

The UK women’s 1,600m SMR of Clarke, Howell, Ross and McKinney placed fourth with a time of 3:47.93 to score five points.

The UK women’s team has 11 points, and leads Stanford in the women’s standings with two of seven relays scored.
 
Other UK results
Dwight St. Hillaire placed second in the men’s 400m, lowering his school record to 45.48 and moving to No. 7 on the NCAA list this season.

UK Class of 2017 alumna Javianne Oliver placed third in the women’s 100m in 11.28 (+1.6). Kianna Gray was seventh.
 
Elijah Marta began the day for UK by placing third in the men’s javelin with a PB 221’9″/67.60m. Ethan Shalaway placed fourth with a toss of 220’4″/67.16m.

Latavia Coombs placed second in the women’s long jump open section with a mark of 19’4″/5.89m (+1.7).
 
Mohammed Abubakar placed third in the men’s long jump with a mark of 24’8.75″/7.84mW (+2.7).
 
Pre-meet notables
The Wildcats will compete at home at the Kentucky Relays to conclude the regular season on May 5.
 
The postseason will begin May 12-13 with the Southeastern Conference Championships, hosted by Tennessee.

SEC Network+ will stream the relay events only on Friday and Saturday, and it will be broadcast live on the Network on Saturday from 8-10 p.m. ET on Saturday, and re-aired on Sunday. At present, field events won’t make the broadcast.
 
The field is made up of Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota (Men only), Oklahoma State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
 
Kentucky has sent 37 athletes (18 women and 19 men) to the National Relays this weekend.
 
The meet begins at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, with running events starting at 3:40 p.m., and 11 a.m. on Saturday. Field action starts at 11 a.m. ET, with a more robust program of relays starting at 8 p.m. ET.

This weekend – a fortnight before most conference championships are held – traditionally features meets that highlight relay events – notably the Penn and Drake Relays. The Arkansas National Relays is being held for the first time, on the heels of last year’s “SEC Relays” at LSU.
 
The UK women’s team is ranked No. 6, and the men’s team is ranked No. 22 in this week’s USTFCCCA Computer rankings.

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