Ed Bird Sets Freshman Record at Stanford Invitational

BATON ROUGE, La. and Palo Alto, Calif. — Freshman Ed Bird ended the night on a high for the University of Kentucky track and field program as they finished day one of the Battle on the Bayou hosted by Louisiana State University and wrapped up competition at the Stanford Invitational hosted by Stanford University on Friday.

After patiently waiting all day for his turn to run the 5,000 meters, Bird scorched the track en route to another freshman record this year. The Dorchester, England native, who already earned the indoor freshman record in the 5,000 meters earlier this year, commanded the track as he won his section at the Stanford Invitational with a freshman record time of 13:51.24 this evening.

Bird’s time replaces Matt Duvall’s record of 14:09.16 set in 2021 and it ranks fifth on the UK all-time performers list. It also marks the second straight win for Bird this outdoor season.

In Louisiana, the Wildcats earned two event wins in the men’s pole vault and women’s 5,000 meters at the Battle on the Bayou with 10 additional top-10 event finishes at the meet. The program also saw two top-five finishes at the Stanford Invitational in the men’s and women’s 1,500 meters as well as six personal bests across both competitions.

Senior Keaton Daniel earned his first win of the outdoor season after clearing 18’04.50”/5.60 meters in the pole vault while junior Mollie Roden won with a personal best time and set a meet record at the Battle on the Bayou crossing the line in 17:05.54 in the 5,000 meters. It marks her second win of the season in the event after she won at the USF Alumni Invitational two weeks ago.

The Wildcats will conclude the Battle on the Bayou tomorrow.

FINALS RECAP

SPRINTS & HURDLES

200M

MEN – Freshman Shavique Bascus finished fifth with a time of 20.74 (+2.1). It marked his second straight top-five finish in the event this outdoor season.

DISTANCE

1500M

WOMEN – Sophomore Ally Kruger won her section at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 4:25.21 while junior Phoebe McCowan finished sixth in her section with a time of 4:28.14.

MEN – Junior Alex Justus placed second in his section with a time of 3:52.08. It marks the second time he’s placed second in an outdoor event this season after taking second in the 800 meters at the USF Alumni Invitational two weeks ago.

5000M

WOMEN – Junior Mollie Roden won with a personal best time and set a meet record at the Battle on the Bayou with a time of 17:05.54. It marks her second win of the season in the event after she won at the USF Alumni Invitational two weeks ago.

Freshman Elly Heine finished fifth with a time of 18:09.64 on her event debut.

MEN – Freshman Ed Bird won his section at the Stanford Invitational with a freshman record time of 13:51.24 that ranks fifth on the UK all-time performers list. It marked his second straight win of the outdoor season so far.

Freshman Caden Miracle finished third at the Battle on the Bayou with a time of 14:30.18. It marked his second consecutive top-five finish in the event so far this season.

Sophomore Cade Byer finished seventh on his event debut with a time of 14:40.11.

300M STEEPLECHASE

MEN – Junior Jackson Watts finished third in his section at the Stanford Invitational with a personal best time of 8:53.97 that ranks sixth on the UK all-time performers list.

Sophomore Alex Alston took ninth at the Battle on the Bayou with a time of 9:29.87. It marked his best event finish of the season so far.

JUMPS & THROWS

POLE VAULT

WOMEN – Junior Payton Phillips finished second with an outdoor personal best of 13’11.25”/4.25 meters that ranks second on the UK all-time performers list. It marks her second top-five result from the outdoor season so far.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Cain finished seventh with an outdoor personal best of 13’01.50”/4.00 meters that ranks fifth on the UK all-time performers list. It marks her second top-10 result so far this season.

MEN – Senior Keaton Daniel earned his first win of the outdoor season after clearing 18’04.50”/5.60 meters while senior Dalton Shepler finished sixth with a clearance of 16’10.75”/5.15 meters.

HAMMER THROW

WOMEN – Freshman Kate Powers finished fifth with a mark of 194’10”/59.39 meters. It marks her second top-five result from the outdoor season so far.

MEN – Junior Logan Coles placed sixth with a throw of 213’11”/65.21 meters while senior DaRoyce Flemons set a new personal best of 189’3”/57.68 meters that ranks 10th on the UK all-time performers list.

JAVELIN THROW

WOMEN – Junior Ariel Pedigo placed 10th with a personal best mark of 144’0”/43.89 meters that ranks fifth on the UK all-time performers list.

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Event Results

Event Lineups (all info tentative and subject to change before the meet)