Pole Vaulters and Distance Runners Earn Three Personal Bests on Double Meet Day for UKTF
LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky track & field student-athletes earned three personal bests at the Camel City Elite Invitational and the Doc Hale Elite Invitational on Saturday, February 5.
Jenna Gearing earned a personal best in the mile while Dalton Shepler and Payton Phillips earned a personal bests in the pole vault.
Distance
Gearing earned a personal best in the mile (4:41.01) and is now the fifth-fastest mile runner in UK history.
Since UK’s three runners ran on a flat 200-Meter track, the NCAA converts their times by shaving a proportionate amount of time off their final run for qualifying purposes. With this conversion applied, Gearing ran a final time of 4:38.26.
Herman placed 10th in the same race with a time of 4:42.64 with a converted time of 4:39.88. She earned her personal best at 2021 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships (4:39.52), which made her the third-fastest mile runner in UK history.
Dylan Allen also competed well in the mile, placing second with a time of 4:04.06. His converted time is 4:00.99.
Pole Vault
In Blacksburg, the pole vaulters finished with three top 10 finishers.
Matt Peare led Kentucky with a fifth-place finish (16’11″/5.16m), followed by Jacob Sobota in seventh (16’5.25″/5.01m).
Shepler finished 10th, clearing the same height as Sobota for a personal best.
Sobota and Shepler are now tied for fifth all-time in UK history in the indoor pole vault.
Siobhan Szerencsits placed seventh in the women’s pole vault (13’5″/4.09m), clearing the second-highest height among the field of competitors.
Lincoln Young, Joseph Jardine and Payton Phillips also competed in the pole vault.
Next Up
UKTF will have another double-header meet weekend on Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12 at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, SC and Indoor Music City Challenge in Nashville, Tenn.
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