WKU Earns Four Event Titles at C-USA Outdoor Championships

Sunday, May 12

Charlotte, N.C.

Western Kentucky University

Conference USA Outdoor Championships

5/12/2019 6:45:00 PM | Track & Field

Results (PDF)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Four conference titles, a school record and a meet record filled WKU's final day of competition at the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. WKU upheld the tradition of successful relay squads with two victories while Kymari Gates and Katie Isenbarger each earned individual titles. The men's team finished in fourth while the women placed 11th overall.

"I am proud of this group of young people," said head coach Erik Jenkins on the squad. "They were focused on the task at hand and remained disciplined in the execution of their training in the meet. We earned numerous personal bests, a multitude of conference champions and a meet record."

WKU continued its tradition of competitive and successful relay teams at conference championships. The 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay teams have now won the conference title five of the last seven years, extending into WKU's Sunbelt era. Running the 18th best time in the country and finishing first in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 39.35 was Will Bush, Martin Owusu-Antwi, Gates and Josh Davis.

The 4x400-meter relay squad recorded the sixth best time in WKU history and 14th best in the country at 3:04.50. Abdur Kelly, Oliver Alexandre, Lincoln Warren and Owusu-Antwi were all part of the team that set a new meet and facility record on its way to WKU's third consecutive 4x400 title. The previous C-USA Outdoor 4x400-meter relay record was held by TCU when they ran 3:05.09 at the 2003 Championships.

Senior sprinter Gates ran a season-best 46.01 in the finals of the 400-meter event to take the title. Gates finished second in the 2018 event and bested teammate Alexandre by .29 seconds on Sunday to win the first-place medal.

After finishing second in the high jump at the C-USA Indoor Championships earlier this year, Isenbarger took first in the outdoor event in record-breaking fashion. The freshman broke the outdoor school record for the second time this year, jumping a personal best 1.82 meters. The mark is tied for 10th best in the nation.

WKU's Hilltopper squad collected all 99 of its points during the final day of competition between sprint race finals and the relays. In the 100-meter dash, the Red and White finished second, third and fourth. Davis led the crew clocking a 10.45 followed by Owusu-Antwi at 10.49. Bush placed fourth with a time of 10.53.

In the 200-meter race, WKU filled the second through fifth finishing times, earning 23 points in the 200 alone. Owusu-Antwi placed second with a time of 20.87. Bush and Davis were directly behind while Gates rounded out the WKU field in fifth.

Mid-distance runner Dedrick Troxell placed seventh in the men's 1500-meter after clocking a time of 3:58.29. In his final C-USA Championships, Maor Seged placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best 51.11, the seventh fastest time in school history.

At nearly every meet in the 2019 season, Adarian Gray recorded a better javelin throw than the weekend prior and the conference championships was no different. Gray recorded a personal best 43.01 meters, the fourth best throw in WKU history to finish fourth in the event.

Jumper Annastacia Forrester picked up points for the Lady Toppers placing fourth in the high jump with a jump of 1.70 meters. Briana Eskridge jumped 1.60 meters and finished tied for 11th in the event.

In the women's triple jump, three Lady Toppers earned points for the squad. Eskridge finished fifth, jumping 12.49 meters in length. Forrester came in sixth at 12.45 meters while Myesha Nott finished with a jump of 12.28 meters, good for eighth.

WKU will take nearly two weeks before individuals compete at the NCAA East Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla.