Tulane University
BSC Panther Ice Breaker
Track and Field Records Eight Top-Five Finishes in Season Opener
Dec 6, 2019 | Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Tulane track and field team totaled eight top-five finishes in its first meet of the season on Friday, also breaking into the top-10 record books in three events in the BSC Indoor Icebreaker at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
"An early season meet like this is important because it gives all of our kids an opportunity to compete at the end of our fall training session," director of track and field Eric Peterson said. "It gives us a lot of feedback that we need as we make a transition into the competitive days of our season. For the most part, I'm pleased with what I saw today."
Junior Kyah Loyd cruised to victory in the 60-meter hurdles, qualifying for the finals with a time of 8.72 seconds in the semis before finishing in 8.63 seconds in the finals to take the number one spot in the meet.
Highlighting the day was also Olivia Hicks in the high jump, as the sophomore recorded a distance of 1.65 meters (5-5) to claim a second-place finish.
Sophomore Trina Malej continued with the success in the jumping events as she led the Green Wave with a career-best distance of 12.13 meters (39-9.75) to finish second overall in the triple jump. Malej's new personal record ranks 10th overall in the Tulane record books.
Also scoring some points in the field events was sophomore Nastja Modic, who placed second in the pole vault with an average height of 3.80 (12-5.5) to tie the 10th spot in Green Wave history.
In her first ever collegiate competition, freshman Maren Butler not only finished sixth overall in the shot put with a distance of 13.3 meters, but also broke into the top-10 spots in the Tulane record books with the sixth best performance of all-time.
Sophomore Hunter Robinson brought the speed to the track, finishing third among 77 total runners in the 200-meter dash to cross the finish line with a time of 25:00 seconds. Senior Maya Harewood was next up for the Olive and Blue, recording a fourth-place finish with a time of 25:15.
Sophomore Oneke Gwan and junior Asja Thompson also competed in the 200-meter, recording 23rd- and 30th-place finishes with respective times of 26:08 and 25:33 seconds.
In the 60-meter dash, sophomore Aldrianna Dupree led the Green Wave by finishing third overall with a time of 7.68 seconds in the finals after clocking in at 7.62 seconds in the semis.
Robinson and Harewood also ran the 60-meter dash for the first time in their careers, with Robinson qualifying for the finals and finishing in eighth overall with a time to 7.77 and Harewood finishing in ninth with a time of 7.82.
In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Louise Jones posted a sixth-place finish among 53 total competitors with a new personal best time of 57.90 seconds. Loyd, who ran the race for the first time in her career Friday, finished in ninth with a time of 58.78 and was followed by Gwan who finished in 10th with a career-best time of 58.85.
Senior Brandi Hughes, Thompson and graduate student Jesica Duckett also competed in the 400-meter, recording 20th-, 21st- and 25th-place finishes with respective times of 1:00.13, 1:00.70 and 1:01.17.
In her first meet following a season-ending injury last year, junior Jordyn Lesh came out strong to record a ninth-place finish in the triple jump at 11.28 meters (37-0.25) and beat her prior personal best distance of 11.09 meters (36-4.75).
Junior Kristina Leggas was impressive in the pole vault, earning a top-five finish at 3.60 (11-9.75) to finish in fourth overall. Junior Danielle Wember rounded up Tulane's competitors in the meet, finishing in 26th at 5.02 meters (16-5.75) in the long jump.
The team will have just over a month off before heading to Baton Rouge to compete in the LSU Purple Tiger on Friday, Jan. 10.
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