By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech track and field team heads north to take on the best the Ohio Valley Conference has to offer Thursday through Saturday, competing at the 2024 OVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Charleston, Ill.
OVC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS INFO
Date: May 9-11, 2024
Location: O'Brien Field (Charleston, Ill.)
Host: Eastern Illinois / Ohio Valley Conference
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday: Combined - 9:00 a.m. CT | Field - 1:00 p.m. CT | Running - 5:00 p.m. CT
Friday: Combined - 9:00 a.m. CT | Field - 2:30 p.m. CT | Running - 5:00 p.m. C
Saturday: Field - 11:00 a.m. CT | Running - 12:30 p.m. CT
What to Watch For
The Golden Eagles carry healthy momentum into this year's outdoor version of the OVC Championships after seeing a number of impressive performances at the final regular season event of the year in Nashville.
Leading the way with the third-fastest 100-meter dash display in the OVC this season Bay'Andria Hodges clocked in with a time of 11.74 seconds. She also helped lead Tech's 4x100-meter relay team of Kategie Casseus, Amara Nwajagu, and Anya Akili to a time of 46.58, the fourth-quickest in the league on the year.
Cayla Johnson showed improvement in a number of events, recording a huge PR of 14.64 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, a great run and season-best of 26.97 seconds in the 200-meter dash, and a toss of 23.82 meters (78'2") in the javelin, another season-best. She also produced a strong throw of 11.14 meters (36'6.75") in the shot put.
In the 400-meter, Nwajagu locked down a sixth-place finish with a mark of 55.95 seconds. Casseus clocked in at 59.03 seconds for a season-best showing.
A trio of Golden Eagles produced strong results in the 1,500-meter run, led by Hayley Stegall and a new PR of 4:48.59. Kendall Johnson followed with her season-best mark of 4:57.80 while Emma Bradford also registered a new career-best showing with a time of 5:04.50 in her final race as a Golden Eagle.
In the 3,000-meter run, newcomer Savanna Amos raced her way to a PR of 10:40.40 to crack the top 15.
Producing the OVC's fourth-fastest performance in the 5,000-meter run, veteran Helen Pacurariu-Nagy placed fifth behind a season-best 17:21.48. Makaleigh Jessee won her heat in the event with a particularly quick final lap, registering a time of 18:01.47 while Maddie Long followed shortly behind with a mark of 18:15.57.
Participating in the high jump, Madison Johnson and Kendall Medders tied each other for sixth place overall, both clearing 1.62 meters (5'3.75").
Closing things out in the long jump, Sidnee Stanton made a massive leap to establish a new career-best mark of 5.76 meters (18'10.75"), the seventh-best jump in the OVC. Anya Akili turned in a season-best distance of 5.65 meters (18'6.5").
Photo by Michael Wade
