By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Khemani Roberts' dominant pentathlon performance from the Purdue Fred Wilt Open was commended by the Ohio Valley Conference Wednesday, when it named the senior all-around star its Female Field Athlete of the Week.
The award marks an astonishing fourth week in a row that the Golden Eagle track and field team has had one of its members recognized by the league office.
Roberts' first pentathlon attempt of the season was a grand one, as she accumulated 3,791 points over five events, and left no doubt that she was the best among the five-member field on Friday.
The 3,791 points was the second-highest score of her career, bettered only by the 3,834-point effort that won her an OVC championship last February. The second-place finisher – Rebecca Coan of Purdue – posted a 3,593, which gave Roberts a decisive victory by nearly 200 points.
The Bon Accord, Trinidad and Tobago native remains unbeaten in the event, having topped the podium in all three career outings.
Roberts started her day with a 60-meter hurdles win, clocking a time of 8.93 seconds. The time was a new personal best, and was an impressive two-tenths of a second faster than Coan, who came in second place.
The senior followed that by winning the high jump, as she was the only competitor to get over the bar at 1.69 meters (5 feet, 6 1/2 inches), and then 1.72 (5-7 1/4) after that. By the end, a 2.5-inch margin of victory separated Roberts from the rest of the pack.
She finished second to Coan in the shot put, recording a 10.92-meter heave.
She won again in the fourth event, the long jump, where she was truly in a league of her own.
Roberts broke the TTU indoor long jump record for the second time in as many weeks, leaping 5.72 meters (18-9 1/4) into the sand pit. That distance was almost an entire foot longer than any other entrant could muster. Purdue's Kyara Muhammad was the runner-up at 5.43 meters (17-9 3/4).
Roberts capped her day with a second-place finish in the 800 meters, completing the race in an indoor-personal-best 2-minutes, 35.00-seconds.
Roberts' total score is far and away the best in the OVC this season. Aubrey Main of Murray State owns the second-best mark, and is more than 300 points back with a 3,475.
This Athlete of the Week honor is Roberts' first this season, her second for an indoor performance, and the third of her Golden Eagle career overall.
Her other accolades came on Jan. 31 and April 25 of 2018.
