By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Another run of season-best and personal records were in store for the Tennessee Tech indoor track & field team Friday and Saturday, as the Golden Eagles wrapped up their final tune-up before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt.
Competing at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility in Nashville, it was a healthy mix of youngsters and veterans providing the highlights for the purple and gold.
For the third time in four meets this season, freshman Carolina Bannach established a new program record in the pole vault, besting her own mark of 3.55 meters. The rookie cleared 3.57 meters (11'8.5") to finish eighth among 22 competitors.
Fellow freshman Ally Beneke kept her strong campaign rolling by tying her own PR in the high jump for the third time this season. Placing second among 30 total jumpers, the rookie lept to a mark of 1.65 meters (5'5"). Madison Johnson also finished in the top-10, ranking sixth with a jump of 1.61 meters (5'3.25") while Kendall Medders ended the day 11th with a height of 1.56 meters (5'1.25").
Sidnee Stanton delivered a pair of top-10 showings on the day, starting with a sixth-place performance in the long jump. She turned in a season-long leap of 5.52 meters (18'1.5") before recording another season-best mark in the triple jump. The sophomore finished 10th in the event behind a mark of 11.45 meters (37'6.75").
Rookie Mattie Bush captured a new personal best in the long jump, ranking just outside the top-10 with a mark of 5.27 meters (17'3.5"). Fellow freshman Angela Hoover smashed her previous career display in the triple jump by over half a meter, putting forth a leap of 11.04 meters (36'2.75").
Veteran Anya Akili earned a 13th-place finish in the seeded flight of the long jump, producing a distance of 5.49 meters (18"0.25"). Rounding out the field side of things for Tech, Cayla Johnson picked up a 10th-place finish in the shot put with a distance of 11.12 meters (36'5.75").
More rookie magic found its way to the track, starting with Bay'Andria Hodges in the 60-meter dash. After qualifying for the semifinals in the event, she blazed to a new PR of 7.65 seconds. She also turned in a new personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.16 seconds.
Over in the 60-meter hurdles, Akili also qualified for the semifinals with a season-best dash of 9.06 seconds. Cayla Johnson produced a season-best as well, rushing to a time of 9.26 seconds.
Amara Nwajagu showed she has started to find her form at the right time, picking up a pair of season-best showings in the 400-meter dash and 200-meter dash. In the 400, the junior also inked an indoor PR, finishing eighth with a time of 55.81 seconds. She posted a mark of 25.12 seconds in the 200.
There were plenty more PRs in store for the distance crew, starting with a time of 5:29.04 by Kendall Johnson in the Mile. Moving on to the 3,000-meter run, Helen Pacurariu-Nagy produced a season-best showing of 10:12.33. Makaleigh Jessee clocked in at 10:35.37 while Lauryn Jackson provided her new personal record in the event, crossing the finish line at 11:01.68.
Maddie Long crushed her previous career-best mark in the 5,000-meter run to lead a trio of Golden Eagles, shaving nearly 40 seconds for a time of 17:48.63. Ava Costello also blew right past her PR in the event, recording a time of 18:33.40 to best her old record of 19:00.55. Emma Bradford established a new personal mark in indoor competition, tallying a 19:33.66.
The Golden Eagle 4x400-meter relay squad rounded out the team's high marks on the day, combining for a new season-best showing. Casseus, Nwajagu, Paris Bowles, and Hodges teamed up to deliver a mark of 3:54.55 for a top-15 finish.
A trio of members of the Tech men's cross country team participated in the 3,000-meter run as well, with all three displaying new personal records. Junior Miceal McCaul led the way with a time of 8:33.00 while fellow junior James Hyland clocked in at 8:38.70. Completing the crew, sophomore Carter Bradford turned in a time of 8:54.14.
"This week's meet at Vandy was good for us," Tech assistant coach Tony Cox said. "We had several new season marks and personal bests, which will give us confidence going into the conference meet in 10 days."
The Golden Eagles conclude the indoor campaign at the OVC Indoor Championships, a two-day event held in Birmingham, Ala. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 and Thursday, Feb. 22.
File photo by Thomas Corhern
