By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championships exactly four weeks down the road, the Tennessee Tech track & field team will compete this weekend at the Austin Peay Invitational, seeking to see how the Golden Eagles stack up against league rivals.

The action Friday and Saturday will also give head coach Wayne Angel a golden opportunity to hammer out his lineup. He will take a squad of 23 student-athletes to the meet, to be held in newly named Fortera Stadium.

"Our goals are twofold this weekend,” Angel said. “Because Austin Peay is a scored meet, we want to evaluate how we stack up against other OVC schools in preparation for the OVC championships. We are also finalizing our lineup for the OVC championships, so we want to give everyone an opportunity to make the travel squad." 

Competition gets underway Friday evening at 5 p.m. with just a few events. The action gets into full swing Saturday, with field events starting at 10 a.m. and the races commencing at noon.

Tech has five entries in both the 100m and 200m dashes, and four in the 800m run. Two Golden Eagles are scheduled to compete in four separate events, including two relays apiece, while two others are listed to run in three events, including two relays each.

Senior Tiara Hymon and freshman Morgan O’Neal are each running the 100m and 200m, and are on the 4x100m and 4x400m relays squads.

Freshmen Jaydean Joseph and D’Airrien Jackson have their names including on three start lists. Joseph is in the 200m and 400m, and the 4x400m relay, while Jackson will race the 800m, plus both relays.

All of those running events are scheduled for Saturday.

On Friday, Tech has three entries. Sophomore Lera McNamara will run the 5,000-meter event, freshman Raven Smith is in the triple jump, and junior Antonia Susnjar competes in the javelin.

Tech entries at Austin Peay:

FRIDAY

Javelin – Antonia Susnjar
Triple Jump – Raven Smith
5,000m – Lera McNamara

SATURDAY
Discus – Makayla Kington
Long Jump – Raven Smith, Tina Driscoll, Eshe’ Robinson
High Jump – NaScottisha Drummond
100m – Tiara Hymon, Currin Washington, Morgan O’Neal, Brittany McGee, Raven Smith
200m – Jaydean Joseph, Tiara Hymon, Currin Washington, Brittany McGee, Morgan O’Neal
400m – Na’Asha Robinson, Jaydean Joseph
800m – D’Airrien Jackson, Madison Stremler, Andrea Retano, Molly Griffin
1,500m – Sarah Brandt, Anna Cooper, Jenna Storms
100m hurdles – Eshe’ Robinson
400m hurdles – Crystal Liebenberg
3,000m steeplechase – Purity Murray, Sonel Bezuidenhout
4x100m relay – Hymon, Jackson, Robinson, O’Neal
4x400m relay – Robinson, Liebenberg, Jackson, Joseph (Brandt, Stremler)
                     - Joseph, Hymon, Washington, O’Neal