By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill.—The Tennessee Tech track and field team had a superb showing on day one of the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, currently standing in third place (out of 12 teams) with 33 points, which is just 11 points behind leader Eastern Illinois. The quad of Sarah Brandt, Jaydean Joseph, Madison Stremler, and Micayla Rennick claimed a first place finish in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay. Their time of 11:50.66, smashed the OVC meet record of 11:53.75, which was previously held by a 2015 Eastern Kentucky squad.
"We performed at a very high level today based on our season leading into the championships," head coach Wayne Angel said. "There were alot of personal and season bests today. You are what you are comimg into the championships. From a growth standpoint, obviously we did alot of things that were were good today, we were accountable and responsible for our performances."
"The DMR really put an exclamation mark on the end of the meet today,"Angel continued. "Sarah Brandt, Jaydean Joseph, Madison Stremler and Micayla Rennick were awesome, they broke the OVC record and won in dramatic fashion, I am so proud of all of our athletes".
Sharnique Leonce had a phenomenal day for the Golden Eagles claiming a first-place finish in the pentathlon. Leonce recorded 3,454 points in the races, tallying over 100 points more than the next participant from Murray State. In the pentathlon, she recorded a 60-meter hurdle time of 9.05, a high jump of 1.70 meters, a shot put of 9.48 meters, a long jump of 5.31 meters, and an 800-meter time of 2:41.23.
Na'Asha claimed a first place finish in the preliminary round of the 400-meter dash, securing a qualifying spot for the finals with a time of 55.07. Teammate D'Airrien Jackson came in right behind N. Robinson with a time of 55.63, securing a spot in the Saturday finals as well.
In the 60-meter dash, Golden Eagles N. Robinson, Lisa Wickham, and Leonce claimed a five, six, seven place finish respectfully; each claiming a pass to the final round of the race on Saturday. N. Robinson led the pack with a time of 7.57. Wickham clocked in just behind N. Robinson with a time of 7.60, while Leonce rounded out the group with a time of 7.62.
N. Robinson had another solid showing in the preliminary round of the 200-meter dash. She claimed a first place finish to advance to the final rounds with a time of 24.37. Jackson placed fifth in the race with a 24.99 mark, while Leonce came in eighth with a time of 25.61; both earning positions in the final race on Saturday.
NaScottisha Drummond and Leonce placed fourth and fifth respectfully in the high jump, each recording a 1.64 meter leap. Micayla Rennick placed sixth in the preliminary round of the 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.85, earning herself a spot in the finals that will be completed on Saturday. Teammate Sarah Brandt clocked in right behind Rennick in seventh place with a 2:16.98 mark, also earning herself a spot in the finals.
Leonce also claimed a fifth place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.67 to qualify her for the finals on Saturday. Her time clocked in just two seconds shy of her own school record.
"We will have a succesfull second day based on how we engaged and performed in competition. However, we need more involvement on the final day to make a serious impact," Angel remarked. "The fighting spirit that I saw today will carry over to tomorrow, it was indicative of how we were all day. It started this morning with with our Pentathletes Sharnique Leonce and Eshe' Robinson as well as NaScottisha Drummond in the high Jump, they were huge for us. Their enthusiasm was very contagious. It set a precendent for how we will perform tomorrow.'
"We need to finish the job tomorrow," Angel said. "We are going to have a few more champions I would suspect. Most importantly, I need to see the team continue to rally and elevate their energy levels."
The Golden Eagles return to the track on Saturday at 9 a.m. to close out day two of the OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Other Tech Finishers
800-meter Prelims: Madison Stremler, 2:18.16 (9); Anna Cooper, 2:27.99 (19)
400-meter Prelims: Crystal Liebenberg, 1:01.08 (20); Andrea Retano, 1:05.46 (24)
Pentathlon: Eshe' Robinson, 3,038 points (4)
60m-hurdles: 9.15; High jump: 1.52m; Shot put: 10.35m; Long jump: 4.70m; 800m: 2:48.09
60-meter Prelims: Brittany McGee, 8.17 (23)
60-meter Hurdles Prelims: Eshe' Robinson, 9.27 (17)
5,000-meter: Purity Murray, 18:45.67 (25)
End of Day One Team Standings
1. Eastern Illinois – 44
2. Tennessee State – 38
3. Tennessee Tech – 33
4. Eastern Kentucky – 30
5. SIUE – 18
5. Austin Peay – 18
7. Jacksonville State – 14
8. Murray State – 13
9. Southeast Missouri – 10
10. UT Martin – 9
11. Belmont – 5
12. Morehead State - 2
Photo by Thomas Corhern
