By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Tennessee Tech track & field kicked off the two-day Fred Wilt Open, hosted by Purdue, on Friday afternoon with the pentathlon.
Three Golden Eagles – Khemani Roberts, Sharnique Leonce and Eshe Robinson – represented Tech in the pentathlon for the first time this season, with Roberts winning the overall title with 3,691 points. Roberts took first in the high and long jumps to help her beat second-place pentathlon finisher Rebecca Coan of Purdue by 47 points.
Leonce placed third with 3,344 points and Robinson seventh with 2,819 points in the final pentathlon standings.
All three of Roberts' first-place finishes in the pentathlon, high jump and long jump broke Tech program records. Her long jump mark of 5.57m broke the previous school record of 5.33m, while her high jump of 1.72m passed the previous 1.70m best.
Roberts did not finish lower than third in any events, placing second in the shot put and third in both the 60m hurdles and 800m.
Leonce had previously held Tech's pentathlon record with 3,454 points. She took first on Friday in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.78.
"I thought our pentathletes performed well today," said head coach Wayne Angel. "First and third place is very respectable. They will be ready when the OVC championships come around."
Tech resumes the meet on Saturday morning, starting with the high jump.