By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech track and field program kicks off its 2022-23 indoor campaign with a two-day event in Nashville, competing at the Commodore Challenge Friday and Saturday.
Commodore Challenge Information
Jan. 13-14, 2023 – Located at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility in Nashville, Tenn. Friday's action will kick off with field events at 1:00 p.m. CT and running events at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, field events will begin at 11:00 a.m. while the running events are slated to kick off at 12:00 p.m.
What to Watch For
The Golden Eagles return the majority of a squad that placed fifth at last year's Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships for the 2022-23 season, led by a slew of veterans poised to show their off-season improvements.
Junior Cayla Johnson claimed medalist honors in the pentathlon, becoming just the third member of the purple and gold to win the event. She also delivered a runner-up showing in the long jump with a career-high leap.
On the distance side, junior Ruby Wyles turned in a first-place performance in the 5,000-meter run and followed it up with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run. Fellow junior distance runner Helen Pacurariu-Nagy was the bronze-medal recipient in the 3,000m race and a member of the Tech distance medley relay squad that took home valuable points
Senior Jalena Curbeam represented the purple and gold with a runner-up performance in the triple jump while junior Anya Akili captured a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon. Tech's 4x400-meter relay team of Trenia Stephens, Akili, Diamond Rush, and Amara Nwajagu completed a fifth-place showing as well, with the whole squad back again this season.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles compete next at the Bellarmine Open hosted by Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. on Friday, Jan. 20.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
