Joseph Palmer Wins Triple Jump at Rick Erdmann Twilight Meet
GAINESVILLE, Fla. and RICHMOND, Ky. – Sophomore Joseph Palmer won the triple jump Saturday at the Rick Erdmann Twilight Meet at Eastern Kentucky University and the men’s 4×400-meter relay posted the best time among collegiate teams at the Tom Jones Memorial Meet at the University of Florida.
Palmer’s triple jump covered 45’1.75″/13.76m and marked the second victory of his career. His previous triumph was in his first collegiate meet, Kentucky’s Jingle Bells Open, in December 2019.
Another highlight at the EKU meet came in the 1500m run. Competing in a strong field, junior Dylan Allen finished seventh among 27 runners. His time of 3:41.15 is a personal best and No. 4 on the all-time UK outdoor list in that event. Freshman Jake Allen came in 11th with a personal-best clock of 3:45.86.
Meanwhile, in Gainesville, the men’s 4×100-meter relay finished first among collegiate teams, third overall. Manned by Lance Lang, Jacob Smith, Rodney Heath Jr. and Dwight St. Hillaire, the time of 39.26 seconds is the fourth-best in school history. It is the first time since 2009 that the UK top-five list in that event has been reached.
In the women’s high jump, senior Carly Hinkle tied for first with a leap of 5’8.5″/1.74m but officially finished second, losing the tiebreaker because she needed more jumps to reach that height. Also finishing second was senior Molly Leppelmeier in the hammer throw. Her fling of 211’10″/64.58m was only two inches short of her own school record.
All totaled at both locations over the two days, UK athletes posted 26 personal bests and there were six new entries on the school’s all-time top-10 lists.
Kentucky finished with four victories during the weekend. In addition to Palmer’s win on Saturday, UK had three wins Friday in Gainesville:
- Charles Lenford Jr., 190’6″/58.08m in the discus throw
- Abby Steiner 22.79 seconds in the 200m dash
- Lance Lang, 20.39 seconds in the 200m dash, improving his No. 3 time in school history
Here are Kentucky’s Friday and Saturday results:
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Saturday, April 17, Tom Jones Meet, Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium, Gainesville, Fla. |
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Event |
UK entries |
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Men’s Hammer Throw |
6. Charles Lenford Jr., 203’6″/62.04m 9. Michael Browning, 186’0″/56.70m | Personal best |
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Women’s 400m |
5. Megan Moss, 53.03 |
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Women’s Pole Vault |
9. Siobhan Szerencsits, 12’5.5″/3.80m |
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Men’s 4x100m Relay |
3. Kentucky (Lance Lang, Jacob Smith, Rodney Heath Jr., Dwight St. Hillaire), 39.26 | First in this race among collegiate teams | No. 4 on all-time UK list |
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Men’s 400 |
4. Jacob Smith, 47.46 14. Cameron Council, 49.38 |
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Men’s 100m |
8. Rodney Heath Jr., 10.37 | Personal best |
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Women’s 100m Hurdles Preliminaries/Finals |
4. Masai Russell, 13.44 Q 8. Faith Ross, 13.54 q 13. Darci Khan, 13.79 15. Annika Williams, 13.89 | Personal best 18. Amaya Chadwick, 14.02
3. Masai Russell, 13.00 | Personal best | No. 4 on the all-time UK list 7. Faith Ross, 13.15 | Personal best | No. 7 on the all-time UK list |
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Women’s Hammer Throw |
2. Molly Leppelmeier, 211’10″/64.58m 3. Jade Gates, 209’2″/63.76m | Personal best | Tied for No. 3 on the all-time UK list |
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Women’s High Jump |
2. Carly Hinkle, 5’8.5″/1.74m | Tied for first, but lost tiebreaker |
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Women’s Shot Put |
3. Nicole Fautsch, 54’7.5″/16.65m 4. Molly Leppelmeier, 53’1″/16.18m | Personal best |
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Women’s 4x400m Relay |
15. Kentucky (Faith Ross, Masai Russell, Darci Khan, Amaya Chadwick), 3:41.82 |
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Saturday, April 17 – Rick Erdmann Twilight Meet, Tom Samuels Track, Richmond, Ky. |
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Event |
UK entries |
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Women’s 100m Finals |
4. Kaylyn Heath, 11.92 |
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Men’s 100m Finals |
3. Chris Duffy, 10.98 |
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Women’s 1500m |
3. Tori Herman, 4:20.25 6. Perri Bockrath, 4:24.04 9. Kaitlyn Lacy, 4:24.79 | Personal best 20. Madisyn Peeples, 4.37.70 |
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Men’s 1500m |
7. Dylan Allen, 3:41.15 | Personal best | No. 4 on the all-time UK list 11. Jake Allen, 3:45.86 | Personal best 20. Shane Williams, 3:53.05 23. Gabriel Szalay, 3:54.67 |
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Men’s Triple Jump |
1. Joseph Palmer, 45’1.75″/13.76m |
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Women’s 5000m |
13. Sophie Carrier, 16:49.58 | Personal best 20. Kelli Walsh, 17:15.13 | Personal best 30. Sarah Michels, 17:55.81 |
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Men’s 5000m |
8. Matt Duvall, 14:11.04 11. Ethan Kern, 14:21.34 | Personal best 17. Brennan Fields, 14:26.36 | Personal best 24. Aaron Withrow, 14:31.04 | Personal best 27. Jonah Mitchell, 14:34.94 | Personal best |
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Friday, April 16 – Tom Jones Meet, Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium, Gainesville, Fla. |
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Event |
UK entries |
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Men’s Discus Throw |
1. Charles Lenford Jr., 190’6″/58.08m | 14th collegiate win, fifth in discus throw 6. Josh Sobota, 177’3″/54.03m 14. Michael Browning, 150’10″/45.99m | Personal best 17. Ezarious Roller, 139’10″/42.64m |
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Men’s High Jump |
5. Rahman Minor, 6’9″/2.06m 7. Trey Causey III, 6’7″/2.01m |
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Men’s Pole Vault |
2. Lincoln Young, 16’10.75″/5.15m | Ties personal best 3. Dalton Shepler, 16’6.75″/5.05m | Personal best 6. Joseph Jardine, 15’7″/4.75m |
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Men’s Shot Put |
3. Josh Sobota, 58’7.5″/17.87m 4. Charles Lenford Jr., 58’5.75″/17.82m |
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Men’s Long Jump |
22. Trey Causey III, 21’6″/6.55m |
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Men’s 200m |
1. Lance Lang, 20.39 | Personal best, No. 3 on the all-time UK list | Fifth individual collegiate win, third in the 200m 3. Dwight St. Hillaire, 20.69 11. Rodney Heath Jr., 21.54 19. Tai Brown, 21.73 |
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Men’s 400m Hurdles |
6. Kenroy Williams, 51.82 8. Beck O’Daniel, 53.32 |
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Women’s Discus Throw |
7. Molly Leppelmeier, 162’2″/49.44m 18. Nicole Fautsch, 138’5″/42.20m |
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Women’s Pole Vault – moved to Saturday at 1 pm |
Siobhan Szerencsits |
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Women’s 200m |
1. Abby Steiner, 22.79 | Sixth straight meet win in the 200m, dating back to February 2020 17th individual collegiate win, 12th in the 200m 5. Dajour Miles, 23.46 31. Megan Moss, 24.67 36. Darci Khan, 25.01 43. Annika Williams, 25.27 |
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Women’s 400m Hurdles |
3. Masai Russell, 58.73 | Top collegian 4. Faith Ross, 59.14 |
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Friday, April 16 – Rick Erdmann Twilight Meet, Tom Samuels Track, Richmond, Ky. |
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|
Event |
UK entries |
|
Women’s 100m Preliminaries (Finals Saturday) |
3. Kaylyn Heath, 11.83 Q |
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Men’s 100m Preliminaries (Finals Saturday) |
2. Chris Duffy, 11.18 Q |
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Women’s 1500m |
2. Love Melton, 4:52.87 | Personal best 13. Natalie Molotky, 5:12.60 |
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Men’s 400m |
7. Brendan Turner, 51.99 |
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Women’s 400m |
9. Sydney Spillman, 59.42 | Personal best 13. Amber Taylor, 1:01.29 | Personal best |
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Women’s 800m |
3. Bryanna Lucas, 2:07.85 | Personal best |
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Men’s 800m |
7. Gabriel Szalay, 1:55.30 |
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Men’s 200m |
5. Chris Duffy, 23.10 |
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Men’s Discus Throw |
6. John Kruzel, 143’6″/43.74m |
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Women’s 3k Steeplechase |
7. Rachel Boice, 10:17.77 | Personal best by 22+ seconds |
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Men’s 3k Steeplechase |
20. McLean Griffin, 9:12.01 | Personal best 16. Matthew Thomas, 8:54.70 |
Kentucky returns to action Saturday, April 24, at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, La.
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