SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The first time the Tennessee Tech track & field team competed in the distance medley relay this year, the four runners selected by head coach Wayne Angel proved to be a lethal combination.
The foursome, all first-year members of the team, broke the school record with a time of 12:07.21 to finish 15th overall at the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
Later in the evening, freshman Na'Asha Robinson (below left) broke her own school record in the 200m dash in 24.64 seconds.
Not only was the DMR group (above) that smashed the previous record by 14 seconds made up of newcomers to the Golden Eagle program, one runner was making her Tech debut after enrolling in January.
Crystal Leibenberg, a diminutive distance runner from Pretoria, South Africa ran the second leg of the relay less than a month after arriving on campus. She was joined in the record-setting effort by junior Sarah Brandt and freshmen D’Airrien Jackson and Jenna Storms.
The previous record of 12:21.09 was set at the 2009 OVC Indoor Championships by Keri Light, Emily Weinzetl, Tiffany Palmer, and Stephanie Place.
Tech competed in just four events Friday on the opening day of the prestigious meet, and established school records in half of them. The team has several more events on the agenda for Saturday.
Tiara Hymon, the only senior on the roster, got the night started for the Golden Eagles in the 60-meter dash. She posted a time of 8.13 seconds to finish 64th overall.
Junior Purity Murray raced in the longest event of the evening, the 5,000-meter run, and clocked a time of 18:42.80 to finish 49th overall.
After the excitement of the DMR posting its school record, the final race of the night for the Golden Eagle squad was the 200-meter dash which saw Robinson break the record. Her time of 24.64 seconds beat the mark she had established just weeks earlier of 24.95 seconds. The time placed her 15th overall. Hymon also competed in the 200m event, posting a time of 26.51 seconds to finish 63rd overall.
Saturday’s schedule opens for Tech at 9:45 a.m. with Murray running in the 3,000-meter race. Liebenberg races in the early section of the 400-meter dash at 12:20 p.m., while Madison Stremer and Brandt are in the 800m early section at 1 p.m.
The 400m invitational will feature Robinson and Jackson at 2:20 p.m., while the 4x400 relay wraps up the weekend. Tech’s relay foursome includes Robinson, Liebenberg, Jackson and Hymon.
60m – Tiara Hymon, 8.13 (64th overall)
200m - Na'Asha Robinson – 24.64 (15th overall) [school record]
200m - Tiara Hymon - 26.51 (63rd overall)
5,000m – Purity Murray, 18:42.80 (49th overall)
Distance Medley Relay – 12:07.21 (15th overall) [school record]
(Sarah Brandt, Crystal Leibenberg, D’Airrien Jackson, Jenna Storms)
