Tulane Track & Field Posts Three Event Wins in Outdoor Debut

Saturday, March 2

Hammond, La.

Tulane University

Southeastern Strawberry Relays

Tulane Track & Field Posts Three Event Wins in Outdoor Debut

Mar 2, 2019 | Track & Field

Meet Results

HAMMOND – The Green Wave track & field team got three event victories, 10 top-five finishes and had a new entry into the school record book as it opened the outdoor season at the Southeastern Strawberry Relays on Saturday.

Tulane's men dominated the 1500, taking four of the top five places in the event. Evans Kipchumba was the winner, crossing the finish line in 4:05.48 in his first race of the outdoor season. Carlos Zervigon was close behind in third with a time of 4:10.75. Pierce Hill was fourth in 4:15.03, and Ian Valdez was fifth in 4:17.77. Jamie Polakoff ran seventh in 4:20.19, and Joshua Cheruyot was ninth in 4:32.35.

Tom Coe got another win for the Tulane men in the 800, crossing the finish line in 1:56.06 in his first outdoor race with the team.

James Thomas Watson may have had the most impressive mark of the day, just missing an event victory in the javelin as he placed second with a personal best distance of 56.64 meters (185-10). Watson got a best of 53.95 meters on his first three throws, and his fourth throw saw him get that 56.64 mark. Watson's distance is now the ninth-best mark in program history. The only person to beat him on the day was an unattached athlete who qualified for the national championship meet while in college in 2017.

On the women's side, Emma King was the winner in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.52 meters (4-11.75) on her first try to break a three-way tie for first place. King cleared 1.47 meters on her first try as well. In her first outdoor meet, Olivia Hicks also reached 1.52 meters but needed three attempts to get over the bar, earning her a third-place finish.

Competing for the first time this year, Skyler Guillot took fourth in the javelin with a throw of 39.33 meters (129-0). Guillot started the day with a throw of 38.38 meters but bettered it on her fifth attempt. Pauline Helm took seventh when she reached 28.09 meters (92-2) on her first throw of the competition.

Helm also competed in the shot put, taking eighth with a distance of 8.25 meters (27-1). Helm achieved that mark on her first attempt of the day. She broke eight meters on two of her five other throws but could not surpass 8.25 meters.

Kyla Denwood started her season off with a third-place finish in the discus, reaching a distance of 38.30 meters (125-8) on her final throw of the day. She started off at 34.86 meters and got better with almost every successful throw. She reached 36.25 on her third attempt and 37.45 on her fourth before throwing 38.30 meters with her last chance.

Tulane will stay in state for its next meet when it travels to the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette on March 15-16.