By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With only seven Golden Eagles in action on Friday at the Louisville Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational, Na'Scottisha Drummond led Tennessee Tech's relatively quiet day with a seventh-place finish in the long jump, while others posted new personal records and season bests.
Drummond's seventh-place nod out of 29 competitors was also a huge personal best for the Duncan, S.C. native, as she soared 5.81 meters (19 feet, 3/4 inches), nearly an entire foot further than her previous standard (5.53m, 18-1 3/4).
The jump moves Drummond all the way up to No. 4 on the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Performance List, and makes her just the second Golden Eagle to leap 19 feet or more this season (Khemani Roberts).
She out-jumped athletes from Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and Western Kentucky, among others.
Ceirra Tate cut precisely a quarter-second off of her previous season best in the 100 meters, crossing the finish line in 12.01 seconds. Her 11th-place result out of 39 was the best of the four Tech entrants in the race, but did not make one of the top nine spots needed to run in Saturday's finals.
Khemani Roberts recorded a time of 12.13 seconds in her first-ever 100-meter attempt, placing her 14th. Behind Tate's effort, it is the second-fastest time posted by a Golden Eagle this season.
Jordan Toney made a solid improvement on her all-time personal best in the 100, as the freshman clocked her first sub-13-second time with a 12.83. It was just under two-tenths of a second faster than her previous best of 13.02.
Jessica Walsh was Tech's final sprinter in the event, finishing in 15.08 seconds.
Eshe' Robinson ran in the 100-meter hurdles prelims, and took 24th overall with a time of 15.65 seconds.
Freshman Janet Kwambai participated in Tech's last event of the afternoon, the 5,000 meters, and posted a mark of 19-minutes, 14.40-seconds in her first-ever go-around outdoors.
Abby Mink and Keyanna Word will get things started for Tech Saturday morning when they take part in the javelin throw at 9:30 a.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information