UKTF Women Third, Men Eighth at Razorback Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.. – The Kentucky track and field women’s team placed third, and the men’s team was eighth at the Razorback Invitational, which wrapped up on Saturday inside Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center.

UK’s women’s 4x400m relay of Faith Ross, Chloe Abbott, Abby Steiner and Masai Russell placed second in the invitational race with a season-best time of 3:32.15, which ranks No. 6 on the UK all-time indoor list.
 
Micaela Hazlewood scored 10 points in the women’s shot put with a winning mark of 53’8.25″/16.36m. UK scored 20 points in the women’s SP as Nicole Fautsch was third and Molly Leppelmeier was fifth.
 
Marie-Josée Ebwea-Bile Excel placed third in her first triple jump of the calendar year with a mark of 44’4.75″/13.53m, while Latavia Coombs placed sixth.
 
Masai Russel ran a PB 54.86 in the women’s open 400m 54.86. Faith Ross placed fifth. Russell scored two points in the women’s 60m hurdles running 8.35 in the final to score two points after coming close to her PB with a time of 8.32 in the prelims.
 
Abbott scored five points in the women’s invitational 400m running 53.32 to place fourth.
 
Noah Castle, Charles Lenford Jr. and Josh Sobota combined to score 19 points in the men’s shot put with a 2-3-4 finish.
 
Freshman Trevor Warren ran a mile PB 4:14.36 to score a point with an eighth-place finish.
 
Men’s team Friday report
Matthew Peare was the UK men’s team’s top scorer on Friday, taking second place in the men’s pole vault with a clearance at 16’1.25″/4.91m to score eight points.
 
Dwight St. Hillaire placed third to score six points in the men’s 200m with a time of 21.13.
 
Women’s team Friday report
Steiner broke 23 second indoors for the first time in her young career, running the No. 4 time on the UK indoor all-time performers’ list. Kianna Gray complimented Steiner’s win with a three-point sixth-place time of 23.55.
 
UK’s two women’s high jumpers both cleared personal best heights. Ellen Ekholm won with a PB-tying 6’0″/1.83m. She also tied Raina Turner’s 23-year-old school record.
 
Ekholm had never cleared that height indoors and equaled the absolute PB she set outdoors at Arkansas last spring. Carly Hinkle set a new PB to place second, clearing 5’10.75″/1.80m to move to No. 6 on the UK all-time list.

Molly Leppelmeier shattered her PB to place fourth and score five points in the weight throw. The sophomore transfer reached a mark of 62’4.5″/19.01m more than two feet past her prior best.
 
Tatiana Aholou scored five points in the women’s long jump with a fourth-place mark of 19’2.75″/5.86m.
 
Meet primer
The Kentucky track and field teams competed among 10 of the best teams in the country – including nine ranked (men’s and women’s) teams – this weekend at the Razorback Invitational.
 
The meet was at the host site for the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships next month.

The Wildcats will host their last indoor home meet next weekend – the Rod McCravy Memorial.
 

—
For the most in-depth coverage of the UK cross country and track and field program follow the @KentuckyTrack social media channels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as well as on UKathletics.com.