By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Tennessee Tech track & field team put an exclamation point on its final regular-season event of the indoor campaign, delivering numerous impressive showings at the Samford Open on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
Kendall Medders produced well for the purple and gold, placing fourth in the high jump among 29 competitors. The junior cleared a height of 1.58 meters (5'2.25") for her top-five finish.
Rookie Sidnee Stanton continued her impressive first season with the Golden Eagles, turning in an eighth-place performance in the long jump with a distance of 5.51 meters (18'1.0"). Following close behind, senior Anya Akili lept to a ninth-place showing behind a mark of 5.45 meters (17'10.75").
Stanton returned to work for another top-10 finish, this time placing eighth in the triple jump behind a leap of 11.42 meters (37'5.75"). Jalena Curbeam contributed a 10th-place showing in the event, producing a mark of 11.37 meters (37'3.75").
On the track side of things, junior Helen Pacurariu-Nagy fired a runner-up showing in the 3,000-meter run, finishing just two-hundredths of a second behind the winner. The distance runner clocked in with a time of 10:14.81.
The Golden Eagles swept the podium in the 5,000-meter run, with Maddie Lone pacing the group with a first-place showing of 18:46.94. Freshman Ava Costello captured second place behind a time of 19:00.55 while third place went to fellow rookie Lauryn Jackson with a time of 19:13.55. Emma Bradford also earned a top-10 ranking, finishing seventh at 19:42.90.
Sophomore Amara Nwajagu sprinted to a podium finish in the 400-meter dash, crossing the line at 56.83. Rookie Malika Coutain also performed at a top-10 level, placing eighth among the 48 racers with a time of 58.72.
Rounding out the day for the purple and gold was the 4x400-meter relay team, delivering the fifth-best time in the Ohio Valley Conference this season. The squad of Trenia Stephens, Paris Bowles, Coutain, and Nwajagu combined to finish second in the event, clocking in with a time of 3:55.19.
A crew of the men's cross country team also competed as individuals at the event, with three members taking part in the mile run. Freshman Carter Bradford blazed to an indoor personal record of 4:15 while teammates Clayton Kirkus and Robert Dawson were close behind with times of 4:22 and 4:24, respectively. Dominic Smith ran 8:39 for the 3,000-meter run on the men's side, placing seventh overall.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles wrap up the indoor campaign at the OVC Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala with two days of competition on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and Thursday, Feb. 23.
Photo by TTU Track & Field
