Kentucky Track & Field to Compete at Red Raider Open and Vanderbilt Invitational

LUBBOCK, Texas — University of Kentucky track & field is set to attend both the Red Raider Open at Texas Tech University on Friday, January 21 and the Vanderbilt Invitational at Vanderbilt University on Friday, January 21 and Saturday, January 22. 

The sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers will compete at Texas Tech while the distance runners and throwers will participate at the Vanderbilt Invitational. 

The Red Raider Open will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday with the women’s weight throw (running events begin at 11:30 a.m.), while the Vanderbilt Invitational will start at noon ET with men’s heptathlon events. On Saturday, the Vanderbilt Invitational will begin at 11 a.m. ET. 

Live results for the Vanderbilt meet can be found at cfpitiming.com. 

The Red Raider Open will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live results can be found at pttiming.com. 

The teams attending the Vanderbilt Invitational are as follows: 

• Arkansas at Little Rock 

• Arkansas State 

• Austin Peay State 

• Belmont 

• Cumberland 

• East Tennessee State 

• Georgia State 

• Kentucky 

• Lee University 

• Life University 

• Memphis 

• Middle Tennessee State 

• Ole Miss 

• Southern Miss 

• Tennessee State 

• Tennessee Tech 

• Louisiana-Monroe 

• Western Kentucky 

The teams participating in the Red Raider Open are the following: 

• Abilene Christian 

• Arkansas (women) 

• Barton CC 

• Houston 

• Kentucky 

• LSU 

• New Mexico Junior College 

• Oklahoma State 

• SMU 

• South Plains College 

• Texas Southern 

• Texas 

• USC (Southern Cal) 

• Western Texas 

Red Raider Open: Who’s Competing 

Abby Steiner will lead the Wildcats in Lubbock. She ran a world-leading 200m time at the Jim Green Invitational, 22.58, only two tenths of a second behind her co-collegiate record of 2.38 that she earned at 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships. 

Even though the 200m is sparsely competed as an indoor event outside North America, Steiner’s first two competitions of the season are an ominous statement of intent, ability and potential. 

Masai Russell, Kennedy Lightner and Dwight St. Hillaire will also highlight the Red Raider Open for Kentucky. 

Lightner won the 300m at the Jim Green Invitational with a time of 32.75, the fifth-fastest in collegiate history and second-fastest in Kentucky history. He was previously the third-fastest 300m runner in Kentucky history after running 33.07 at the Cardinal Classic, but surpassed Lance Lang’s 33.04 to move into second all-time for UK. 

He also ran the anchor leg of the men’s 4x400m relay, which earned the fastest time in the nation so far this season with a time of 3:05.01. Lightner, along with St. Hillaire, will be running the same event in Lubbock. 

St. Hillaire earned a solid early-season time in the 200m, winning the race in 21.02 seconds. 

Russell ran in three events at the Jim Green Invitational, the 60m, 60m hurdles and 200m, and she earned personal bests in all of them. She ran a blazing personal best of 8.01 in the semifinals of the 60m hurdles, the third-fastest all-time for UK. She doesn’t typically run the 200m, but she earned a personal best in the race when she finished second behind Steiner with a time of 23.60. In the 60m prelims, she ran a person best 7.46. 

Alexis Holmes will also be competing in Lubbock. She won the 300m at the Jim Green Invitational with a personal best time of 37.37 for the fourth-fastest 300m in UK history, followed by Megan Moss (37.87) with the seventh-fastest in UK history. 

Vanderbilt Invitational: Who’s Competing 

The Wildcats have several standout competitors going to Nashville. 

Josh Sobota, Michael Browning and Molly Leppelmeier will highlight the throwers, coming off wins in the weight throw and shot put at the Jim Green Invitational. 

Leppelmeier won the shot put with a distance of 50’2.5″/15.30 and the weight throw with a distance of 6’8.5″/20.33m. 

Sobota won the shot put with a mark of 62’11.5″/19.19m. 

Browning won the weight throw with a mark of 63’11.85″/19.50m, improving upon his currently held sixth-best weight throw in UK history. 

This distance runners will be highlighted by Bryanna Luca, Deanna Martin and Phoebe McCowan 

The three 800m runners swept the race at the Jim Green Invitational, finishing within .30 of each other. Lucas won the race (2:09.12), followed by Martin (2:09.28) and McCowan (2:09.41) 

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