UKTF Wins Nine Events at Inaugural Jim Green Invitational

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky track and field Wildcats won nine events and had a further three top collegians win events at the inaugural Jim Green Invitational inside Nutter Field House this past weekend.
 
The Wildcats dominated the short sprints winning the 60- and 200-meter races on both the men’s and women’s sides to go along with the women’s 400m individual and 4x400m relay – a fitting tribute to the meet’s namesake who was Kentucky’s first NCAA Champion when he claimed the indoor 60-yard dash in 1968 and the 100-yard dash in both 1968 and 1971.

UK event winners
Junior Daniel Roberts swept the 60m dash and high hurdles running 7.71 to win over the barriers tying his personal best. He lowered his dash best to 6.68 in a victorious effort – tied for No. 5 on the UK indoor all-time list.
 
Freshman Abby Steiner made her Kentucky track debut by winning the 60m and 200m. She started the afternoon by tying Keilah Tyson’s 60m UK freshman record at 7.36Q in the prelims before winning the final in 7.38.
 
Steiner came back to win the 200m in 23.59.
 
Cameron Council won the men’s 200m in 21.19, moving to No. 8 UK indoor all-time list.
 
Chloe Abbott – a three-time First Team All-American junior transfer who sang the National Anthem at the Kentucky basketball game on Tuesday and before the meet started on Saturday – won the women’s 400m and anchored UK’s winning relay.
 
Abbott ran 53.64 – moving to No. 7 UK indoor all-time list – to win the quarter mile.
 
UK’s team of Faith Ross, Steiner, Masai Russell and Aboot won the mile relay in 3:39.41 to end the meet on a winning note.
 
Ross won the 60m hurdles in 8.23 and led off UK’s 4×4.
 
Sophomore Rahman Minor won the high jump on Friday, clearing 7’0.5″/2.15m to edge Indiana’s Jyles Etienne as Minor cleared the winning height on his first attempt and the visitor missed on his first try at that standard. Minor moved to No. 5 on the UK all-time indoor list.
 
UK top collegian finishers
Noah Castle was top collegian and second overall in the men’s shot put with a big mark of 63’3.25″/19.28m.
 
Micaela Hazlewood placed as top women’s shot put collegian, second overall, in her UK debut with a mark of 53’9.25″/16.39m (No. 2 on UK indoor all-time list)..
 
Zhane Smith was second overall and top collegian in the women’s long jump with a 19’11.5″/6.08m mark. Tatiana Aholou was a place behind reaching 19’9.75″/6.04m.
 
UK notables
Matthew Peare placed fifth in the men’s pole vault clearing a PB 17’2.75″/5.25m to move to No. 3 on the UK indoor all-time list.
 
Charles Lenford Jr. placed fourth in the shot put with an indoor PB toss 61’8’25″/18.80m (indoor pb), while freshman Josh Sobota placed sixth with his collegiate best mark 61’1.5″/18.63m.
 
Molly Leppelmeier was fourth in the women’s shot put with a mark of 51’4.25″/15.65m (No. 6 on UK indoor all-time list).
         
The meet recognized Green, the first African-American student-athlete at Kentucky and in the Southeastern Conference to win NCAA and SEC Championships.

Green was one of the SEC’s pioneers of integration and was a 2007 inductee into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. He’s in fact an inductee into six Halls of Fame.
 
Green was the first UK African-American to serve as co-captain on the track team and in December 1971 became the first African-American student-athlete to graduate from UK.
 
In spite of facing open hostility at many competitions, Green succeeded at the highest levels of collegiate sport. He was a three-time NCAA champion, winning the indoor 60-yard dash in 1968 and the 100-yard dash in both 1968 and 1971.
 
He earned All-America honors six times and won eight SEC individual events, including the indoor 60-yard dash (1968, 1971), outdoor 100-yard dash (1968, 1970, 1971), and outdoor 220-yard dash (1968, 1970, 1971).

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