By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A trio of podium finishes propelled the Tennessee Tech indoor track & field team to a brilliant first day at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday, as the Golden Eagles closed out the first of two days ranked second among the 10 league teams with 30 points.
Not one, not two, but three Golden Eagles took home valuable points in the long jump for the purple and gold, led by a pair of podium leaps by Anya Akili and Sidnee Stanton. A senior, Akili delivered a runner-up performance with a huge personal record jump of 5.68 meters (18'7.5") to claim eight crucial points.
Stanton, a rookie competing in her first OVC meet, ranked right behind her veteran teammate, placing third behind her own PR of 5.67 meters (18'7.25") for six points. Junior Cayla Johnson made it three in a row on the leaderboard for Tech with a fourth-place showing, gathering five points behind a jump of 5.61 meters (18'4.75").
Capturing her own podium production on the day was junior Kendall Medders, taking home a bronze medal finish in the high jump. The Knoxville native cleared 1.65 meters (5'5") for six more points added to the Golden Eagle effort.
Moving onto the running portion of the day, distance performer Maddie Long picked up an important point while representing the purple and gold in the 5,000-meter run. The Cookeville native clocked in at 18:38.08 to finish eighth overall.
Rounding out the scoring for the day for the Tech crew was the distance medley relay team of Rahab Sawe, Trenia Stephens, Nyla Armand, and Helen Pacurariu-Nagy. The group solidified a fifth-place finish with a time of 12:27.43, snagging four more points to close out the day.
A pair of Golden Eagles secured positions in the finals of three running events during the day as well, led by sophomore Amara Nwajagu. The second-year sprinter qualified for both the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash, placing second in the 400m preliminaries with a time of 56.79 and fourth in the 200m prelims behind a time of 24.94. Junior Trenia Stephens locked down a spot in the finals of the 60-meter dash after finishing sixth in the prelims with a time of 7.68.
Day two of the OVC Championships kicks off with combined events at 9:00 a.m. CT. Field events will commence at 11:00 a.m. and running events will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Photo by Michael Wade
