Ellen Ekholm, Women’s 4x400m Relay Team Set School Records

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ellen Ekholm setting school records each week and Kentucky’s women’s 4×400-meter relay team running top times in the NCAA and the world is nothing new, and both of these accomplishments happened again on Saturday at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina.
 
First up on Saturday was another impressive performance for Ekholm who actually broke her own school record twice during the women’s high jump. Coming into this weekend, the senior’s record stood at 6-1.25 (1.86m) as she sat at No. 2 in the NCAA this season.
 
On her third try at 6-2.00 (1.88m), Ekholm was successful, which was good enough for a tie at No. 1 in the NCAA this season. But why stop there? Ekholm narrowly missed her first two tries at 6-2.75 (1.90m) only to come through on the final try and become the sole leader in the NCAA this season.
 
Coming into this weekend, the Wildcats’ 4x400m women’s relay team had recorded the two best times in the world this season and the No. 2 and No. 3 times in school history. This time, Megan Moss, Abby Steiner, Dajour Miles and Chloe Abbott’s time of 3:29.74 was good enough for the UK record and the No. 1 time in the NCAA and the world this season.
 
Overall, with some of the nation’s best talent in Clemson this weekend, Kentucky continued to impress in several different events. The Wildcats will now prepare for the Southeastern Conference Championships on Feb. 28-29 in College Station, Texas.
 
Tiger Paw Invitational Day One Notables
Molly Leppelmeier finished in fifth in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 67-1.25 (20.45m) which is a personal-best and No. 3 in school history.
 
Masai Russell finished in fifth in the women’s 60-meter hurdles final with an 8.11 which currently places her ninth in the NCAA.
 
Celera Barnes won the women’s 60m dash final with a time of 7.18 which is good for No. 6 in the NCAA this season.
 
Abby Steiner finished in seventh in the women’s 60m dash final with a time of 7.31, but her time of 7.24 in the semifinals gives her the No. 10 spot in the NCAA currently.
 
Nicole Fautsch finished in third in the women’s shot put with a mark of 52-7.50 (16.04m).
 
Lance Lang ran a 6.64 in the men’s 60m dash semifinals but did not run in the final. The time of 6.64 is currently good for a top 12 spot in the NCAA.
 
Joshua Sobota finished in third in the men’s shot put with a mark of 64.11-25 (19.79m).
 
Tiger Paw Invitational Day Two Notables
The women’s 4x400m relay team of Megan Moss, Abby Steiner, Dajour Miles and Chloe Abbott won the event with a time of 3:29.74 which is a school record and the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season.
 
Ellen Ekholm won the women’s high jump with a mark of 6-2.75 (1.90m) which is a school record and the No. 1 mark in the NCAA this season.
 
Abby Steiner finished in second in the women’s 200m with a time of 22.86 which is the No. 2 time in the NCAA this season.
 
Molly Leppelmeier finished in third in the women’s shot put with a mark of 50-10.00.
 
Matthew Peare finished in second in the men’s pole vault with a mark of 17-0.75 (5.20m).
 
Iowa State Classic Notables
In the women’s 5,000-meter race, Sophie Carrier finished eighth with a time of 17:06.48 while Kelli Walsh finished 12th with a time of 17:35.30.
 
In the women’s 3k, Kaitlyn Lacy finished in 13th with a time of 9:52.00.
 
In the men’s 3k, Brennan Fields finished ninth with a time of 8:18.07 while Dylan Allen finished 12th with a time of 8:20.08. Trevor Warren finished 22nd with a time of 8:25.21.
 
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