By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech track and field program will head north for the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships, competing in the league's annual event at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Ill. from Thursday, May 13 through Saturday, May 15.
OVC Championships
May 13-15, 2021 – Located at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Ill. Thursday's action will kick off with multi events at 9:00 a.m CT, field events at 1:00 p.m. and running events at 5:00 p.m. Friday starts with multi events at 9:00 a.m., field events at 2:30 p.m. and running events again at 5:00 p.m. Saturday's final day of action consists of field events starting at 11:00 a.m. and running events at 12:30 pm.
The Field
The OVC Championships women's field consists of Austin Peay, Belmont, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri, SIUE, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
What to Watch For
The Golden Eagles head into their final meet of the year and the first OVC outdoor championship event since 2019 (after last year's edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) with plenty of momentum on their side. Eight members of the purple and gold registered personal records in Tech's most recent competition, the Tennessee Challenge.
Freshman Cayla Johnson collected three PRs alone, posting strong showings in the long jump, 200m and 100m hurdles. Fellow rookie Samaria Allen and sophomore Anya Kili both lept to season-best lengths in the long jump as well.
Junior Alex Brugere established a new career standard for the 800m while senior Courtney McCowan raced to her fastest-ever time in the 1,500m run. Rookie Amanda Laboy competed in her first track & field event in her young career, earning a top-10 finish in the 3,000m run.
Rounding out the PR party were sophomore Jalena Curbeam and freshman Jadae Joseph, each leaping to new personal marks in the triple jump.
Photos by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
