Three Top 10 Marks Fall for the Wildcats on Opening Day of Outdoor Season
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Kentucky Wildcats completed the opening day of the 2026 outdoor season today at the Black and Gold Challenge in Orlando, Fla.
The Wildcats totaled three event wins on the day, coming from Kaylee Daniel, Kate Powers and Ed Bird and three top 10 program marks, including Daniel, Anthony Waterman and Ally Kruger.
Daniel and Powers kicked off the day with a pair of wins in the opening field events. Daniel cleared a personal best height of 4.07m/13-4.25 in the women’s pole vault event, the fifth-best mark in Kentucky history.
In their collegiate outdoor debuts, Kashia and Kahlia Hoo both placed inside the top 10 in the women’s 400m hurdles, with Kashia finished third with a time of 1:00.31 and Kahlia placed eighth with a 1:01.97 mark.
In the men’s half of the 400m hurdles, Waterman posted a personal best time of 50.46 to place second. That time moves the Wildcat sophomore into fourth all-time in the UK record books.
Janet Jepkemboi Amimo and Kruger both finished inside the top five in the women’s 1500m, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Kruger posted her career-best time of 4:17.96, moving her into seventh all-time in program history.
In the final track event of the day, Bird claimed the third win for the Wildcats in the men’s 1500m race with a time of 3:43.78.
Grayson Brashear closed out the opening day of the outdoor season with a win and a career-best mark of 18.35m/60-2.5 in the men’s shot put event.
Day two of the Black and Gold Challenge will start tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET with five field events, including the men’s and women’s high jump, men’s and women’s discus and men’s triple jump events.
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Event Schedule
| Black & Gold Challenge: Friday, March 20: ALL TIMES IN EASTERN TIME | |||
| Women’s Javelin | 10:30 a.m. | FINAL | 15. Julia Gunnell – 29.35m
19. Dahlia Beasley – 21.36m (PR)
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| Women’s Long Jump | 12:00 p.m. | FINAL | 10. Skyler Reynolds – 5.77m
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| Men’s Long Jump | 12:00 p.m. | FINAL | 12. Kingi McNair – 7.10m (PR)
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| Women’s Hammer | 12:30 p.m. | FINAL | 1. Kate Powers – 60.11m
6. Meagan Ewers – 54.68m (PR) 7. Addison Stadsholt – 53.55m (PR) 23. Gwyn Lori – 39.62m (PR)
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| Men’s Hammer | 12:30 p.m. | FINAL | 7. Brock Conrad – 55.65m (PR)
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| Women’s Pole Vault | 2:00 p.m. | FINAL | 1. Kaylee Daniel – 4.07m (PR) (No. 5 UK All-Time)
2. Annie Murphy – 3.97m 6. Chelsea Wetzel – 3.87m Sarah Ferguson – NH
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| Men’s Pole Vault | 2:00 p.m. | FINAL | 2. Grant Harrison – 4.93m (PR)
7. Jack Marek – 4.68m (PR)
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| Women’s Shot Put | 5:00 p.m. | FINAL | 8. Gwyn Lori – 14.35m
18. Meagan Ewers – 12.88m
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| Men’s Shot Put | 5:00 p.m. | FINAL | 1. Grayson Brashear – 18.35m (PR)
8. Brock Conrad – 15.86m
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| Women’s 400m Hurdles | 5:00 p.m. | FINAL | 3. Kashia Hoo – 1:00.31 (PR)
8. Kahlia Hoo – 1:01.97 (PR) 10. Alene Washington – 1:02.33 (PR)
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| Men’s 400m Hurdles | 5:20 p.m. | FINAL | 2. Anthony Waterman – 50.46 (PR) (No. 4 UK All-Time)
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| Women’s 200m | 5:40 p.m. | FINAL | 20. Naseera Efua Quansah – 23.94
23. Tressia Davis – 23.94 26. Dahlia Beasley – 24.05 (PR) 36. Julia Gunnell – 24.32 (PR) Camden Bentley – DNS Rukia Nusra Omulisia – DNS Stacey Onyepunuka – DNS Briana St. Louis – DNS A’Laji Bradley – DNS
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| Men’s 200m | 6:15 p.m. | FINAL | 5. Miles Jones – 20.83
13. Oscar Baltan Vivero – 21.05 42. Coy Hyre – 21.83 50. Zach Morgan – 22.06 54. Zyrie Stewart-McLaren – 22.12 Kaylib Nelson – DNS
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| Women’s 2000m Steeplechase | 6:50 p.m. | FINAL | 3. Noel Barlette – 6:47.03 |
| Women’s 1500m | 7:10 p.m. | INVITE | 4. Janet Jepkemboi Amimo – 4:17.35
5. Ally Kruger – 4:17.96 (PR) (No. 7 UK All-Time) 11. Ann Lemirisho – 4:27.38 Noel Barlette – DNF
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| Men’s 1500m | 7:30 p.m. | INVITE | 1. Ed Bird – 3:43.78
2. Collins Kiprop Kipngok – 3:44.13 4. Nicola Baiocchi – 3:46.81 6. Levi Kipkurui Bichii – 3:47.17 11. Jackson Wyatt – 3:48.98 18. Miles Brush – 3:51.40 19. Tony Anania – 3:51.40 22. Sami Hattab – 3:52.43 31. Caden Miracle – 3:55.96 38. Eyan Turk – 4:00.83 |
| Black & Gold Challenge: Saturday, March 21: ALL TIMES IN EASTERN TIME | |||
| Women’s High Jump | 10:00 a.m. | FINAL | Kemarah Howard |
| Men’s High Jump | 10:00 a.m. | FINAL | Devin Sealey
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| Men’s Triple Jump | 10:00 a.m. | FINAL | Theo Mudzengerere
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| Women’s Discus | 10:00 a.m. | FINAL | Kate Powers, Addison Stadsholt, Gwyn Lori
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| Men’s Discus | 10:00 a.m. | FINAL | Brock Conrad, Grayson Brashear
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| Men’s 110m Hurdles | 11:00 a.m. | PRELIMS | Anthony Waterman |
| Women’s 100m Hurdles | 11:20 a.m. | PRELIMS | Camden Bentley, Julia Gunnell, Kashia Hoo, Dahlia Beasley, Rukia Nusra Omulisia
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| Women’s 4x100m | 12:30 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky |
| Men’s 4x100m | 12:45 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky
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| Women’s 800m | 12:55 p.m. | FINAL | Janet Jepkemboi Amimo, Doricah Minsari Isoe, Lyric Olson
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| Men’s 800m | 1:15 p.m. | FINAL | Patrick Faust, Nicola Baiocchi, Jackson Wyatt, Levi Kipkurui Bichii, Tony Anania
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| Women’s 100m Hurdles | 1:35 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Men’s 110m Hurdles | 1:45 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Women’s 400m | 2:00 p.m. | FINAL | Oneika McAnnuff, Cha’iel Johnson, JahQueen McClellan, Tressia Davis
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| Men’s 400m | 2:20 p.m. | FINAL | TK Pahuwa, Brandon Nyandoro, Coy Hyre, Patrick Faust
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| Women’s 100m | 2:45 p.m. | FINAL | Sharmelle Holmes, Naseera Efua Quansah
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| Men’s 100m | 3:05 p.m. | FINAL | Denzel Simusialela, Miles Jones, Jack Marek, Kaylib Nelson, Zyrie Stewart-McLaren, Zach Morgan
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| Women’s 4x400m | 3:50 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky |
| Men’s 4x400m | 4:10 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky |
