Two Freshman Records Fall After First Day of Black & Gold Invite

ORLANDO, Fla. — Kentucky track & field freshman jumpers Anthaya Charlton and Jordan Turner each broke UK freshman records in the long jump on Friday at the Black & Gold Invite to open the 2023 outdoor season for the Wildcats.

Charlton, who recently competed in her first NCAA Indoor Championships a week ago, broke Sha’Keela Saunders’s UK freshman outdoor long jump record of 21’1.25”/6.43 meters placed in 2014.

On her third attempt, Charlton jumped 21’8.25”/6.61 meters setting a new record and a personal best. The jump also placed her atop the long jump leaderboards in the country as of Friday and second on the UK all-time performers list.

Turner wasted no time breaking the men’s UK freshman long jump record. On his first attempt, Turner jumped 25’5.50”/7.76 meters breaking Derrick Locke’s UK outdoor freshman record of 25’3.25”/7.70 meters set in 2008. The personal best jump for Turner places him at number three on the UK all-time performers list.

Personal Bests

Feeding fresh off the energy of an NCAA Indoor Championship meet last week the team got the outdoor season started off without a hitch.

In total, 23 UKTF student-athletes hit a personal best on the first day of competition at the Black and Gold Invitational. Six Wildcats won an event while four sit atop the national leaderboards in the early days of the season.

Dennis Ohene-Adu got the afternoon started after earning a personal best of 174’10”/53.30 meters in the discus throw.

Payton Phillips hit a personal best of 13’3.50”/4.05 meters to capture the pole vault competition. Her mark sees her tied at number three on the UK all-time performers list.

Phillips outlasted teammate Siobhan Szerencsits who was runner-up with a vault of 12’11.50”/3.95 meters. Kaitlyn Cain vaulted at 12’5.25”/3.80 meters in her outdoor debut to complete the podium sweep for the Wildcats.

Dalton Shepler and Jacob Sobota both hit personal bests in the men’s pole vault. The pair finished at number three and four in the competition sharing a height of 16’0”/4.88 meters.

Sophie Galloway earned a personal best in the long jump leaping for 19’5.25”/5.92 meters while Simisola Akinrinsola closed out the personal bests in the field with a personal best throw of 47’7.75”/14.52 meters for a fifth-place finish in the shot put.

Masai Russell turned in the fastest time in the country as of Friday in the 400-meter hurdles. Her time of 56.66 beat the time of 58.12 set only a week ago and ranks number seven on the UK all-time performers list.

Beck O’Daniel followed in Russell’s footsteps moments later and delivered a personal best of 51.03 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. His time is currently number one overall in the country as of Friday and sits at number five on the UK all-time performers list.

Five Wildcats hit personal bests in the women’s 200 meters with four of them making their outdoor debut in the event. Colleen Branch, Tamiia Fuller, Mahogany Mobley, and Victoria Perrow all made their outdoor debut this afternoon. Reynei Wallace, a sophomore, has appeared in this competition before in her career, but this afternoon was the first time doing so for the Wildcats.

Perrow placed the highest out of the group finishing in 18th with a time of 24.12. Wallace followed in 21st with a time of 24.30 while Branch was 23rd with a time of 24.40. Fuller was 28th at 24.64 while Mobley was 50th with a time of 25.19.

Brandon Miller tied the fastest time in the country in the men’s 200 meters with his time of 20.60. The mark is a personal best for Miller and places him at number seven on the UK all-time performers list. Langston Jackson placed third with a time of 20.94 while Myles Anders placed 10th with a time of 21.21 which are personal bests for the pair.

Four of the five Wildcats that participated in the women’s 1,500 meters achieved personal bests. Phoebe McCowan had the highest finish in fourth with a time of 4:24.56 while Bryanna Lucas placed inside the top 10 at ninth with a time of 4:28.81. Kaylie Kenne followed in 10th with a time of 4:29.81 while Ally Kruger was 11th in her outdoor debut with a time of 4:30.00.

Alex Justus ran a personal best of 3:50.28 in the men’s 1,500 meters for a fifth-place finish. Dylan Allen won the event with a time of 3:47.89.

Notables

John Kruzel placed 15th in the men’s discus throw with a toss of 147’9”/45.03 meters.

Meg Wilson placed 24th in the women’s long jump with a jump of 18’7.75”/5.68 meters.

Robert Springfield III turned in a top-10 finish in the men’s long jump at 24’8.25”/7.43 meters.

Leah Moore also placed in the top 10 in the women’s shot put throwing for 45’4.25”/13.82 meters.

Ohene-Adu closed out the field events for the men throwing for 53’6.25”/16.42 meters in the shot put for a top 10 finish of sixth place.

Yasmin Brooks placed seventh in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.12 for a top-10 finish.

Shadajah Ballard placed 12th in the women’s 200 meters with a time of 23.90 which is the ninth fastest time on the UK all-time performers list. Iantha Wright was 16th in the same event with a time of 24.08 in her outdoor debut for the Wildcats.

Brian Faust placed fifth in the men’s 200 meters with a time of 21.03 for a top-five finish.

DeAnna Martin placed 17th in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 4:35.86.

Harper Moore placed 14th in the men’s 1,500 meters with a time of 3:53.52.

Jackson Watts, Alex Alston, and McLean Griffin finished two, three, and four in the men’s 2,000 meter steeplechase with times of 5:53.65, 5:56.18, and 5:57.40 respectively.

UKTF will resume the Black & Gold Invitational tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET with the men’s and women’s hammer throw.

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