Track & Field takes 8th at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship

Friday, February 25

Birmingham, AL

Tulane University

American Athletic Conference

Track & Field takes 8th at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship

Feb 26, 2022 | Women's Track and Field, Track & Field

By: Samantha Larsen

Meet Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tulane student-athletes earned scoring marks at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex this past weekend.

"We came out strong on the first day of competition and advanced people to finals which is critical to your championship scoring potential," said Adrian Myers, Tulane's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. " If you can survive and advance, your ceiling becomes much higher for point totals. Get people into scoring position, period. A championship meet will
ebb and flow, but depth will help make up at times for the dips. We as a program just really lack depth right now and that ultimately hurt us down the stretch to finish in the middle of the conference. Which is what we were capable of. This sport only gives you what you deserve."

As a team, Tulane finished in 8th place with 36 points, only five points off from sixth place. This is a major improvement for the program as they landed 10^th over all in its last championship.

Kristen O'Handley medaled at the indoor championship for the first time, placing second for the silver medal this year with a score of 3884 points in the Women's Pentathlon. O'Handley set a meet record in the 800m with a time of 2:18.61. She was joined in the top ten by teammates Margot Temines, Migle Muraskaite and Patricija Ozolina who took fifth, eighth and 10^th respectively.

"O'Handley had herself a weekend! The goal is to be ready to perform at your best when it matters most. She and Coach Eggerth have worked so hard to earn that AAC medal. Kristen shows what hard-work and discipline can do for you. Just keep showing up and compete when given opportunities. You'll get your moment if you stay persistent and trust your training," Myers said.

Also scoring for Tulane was Kyah Loyd in the 60m hurdles with a fifth-place finish and a time of 8.38. Fellow sprinter Hunter Robinson ran a 55.93 in the 400m dash final to take home eighth place and the eighth fastest time in program history.

The distance runners where no stranger to success Mackenzie Callahan took fourth in the one mile final with a time of 4:49.47. Callahan also came in fifth in the 800m final her time set a new junior class record that was 22years her predecessor. The graduate student was the only athlete in the meet to triple the 800m, Mile and 3,000m. Therese Olshanski ran her 10^th best mark in the mile.

"She carried a lot of weight on her shoulders this weekend in digging us out of the AAC basement. She set the standard of what it will mean to be a part of this program moving forward. The willingness to sacrifice individual glory for the sake of the team. She knows what it takes to win championships, she's done it at every level of her career. This will be rewarded in the seasons ahead; I promise you that.' Myers said.

The Green Wave dominated the Pole Vault with four top-10 finishes including a top-5 from Nastja Modic who vaulted a 3.82m.

Tulane will head outdoors for its next team meet, taking part in the SA Invitational in Mobile on March 11-12.

"We move forward now and will continue to build a championship pedigree program here in Uptown. I have a tremendous staff that understands what winning takes and looks like. We will build off our small successes through the year to show great progress in the months and seasons ahead for Green Wave track & field. I'm proud to say a good foundation is being laid the build on," Myers said. "

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