Results
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – WKU Track and Field opened its outdoor season with a strong showing at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Track and Field Complex. WKU finished the competition Saturday afternoon with a total of three event titles and 20 top-10 finishes.
Six Hilltoppers walked away with first place finishes today as Desmond Mobley, Chard Muhwanga and the 4x400-meter relay team earned high marks in their respective events. In the long jump, Mobley posted a 7.49 meters mark, outjumping his nearest opponent by half a meter. Muhwanga threw 49.03 meters in the discus event to earn first. The 4x400-meter team, consisting of Charles Shimukowa, Kymari Gates, Denzel Villaman and Austin Hayes, clocked a 3:11.89 to receive first.
Thirteen of WKU's top-10 finishes came from the men's squad over the course of the two days. In the 200-meter, Austin Hayes (21.42), Kymari Gates (21.52) and Oliver Alexandre (21.62) finished second, third and fourth, respectively. The Hilltoppers earned two second place finishes in hurdles events with Jonathan Hayden posting a 14.26 in the 110-meter and Denzel Villaman notching a 53.55 in the 400-meter.
Graduate student Charles Shimukowa placed eighth in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:55.48. The 4x100-meter team ran a 41.08, good for a third-place finish while WKU's second 4x400-meter relay team finished second, notching a time of 3:14.20. Mobley also tied for fourth in high jump clearing 1.95 meters and Alec Tanksley earned fourth in long jump with a length of 6.82 meters.
The Lady Topper squad completed the weekend with seven top-10 finishes across track and field events. Ariel Terrell posted the highest finish of the invitational for the Lady Toppers with second place in the 400-meter hurdles and a time of 1:00.81. Terrell was just over a tenth of a second off from cracking the top five program bests in that event. In the 200-meter sprint, Juannae Lewis (24.74) placed fifth while the 4x400-meter relay team finished third, clocking a 3:54.63.
In pole vault, Nicole Ogorek (3.55 meters) finished eighth and Getter Lemberg (3.55 meters) placed ninth. In javelin, two Lady Toppers placed in the top-10: Kira Harman (36.70 meters) in third and Adarian Gray (33.98 meters) in seventh.
"Today's meet presented us with some welcome challenges," said head coach Erik Jenkins. "The weather was not ideal, but I believe we managed it well. We had several personal and outdoor season bests this weekend. We have a lot of work to do, but positive strides were made at Vanderbilt."
Next up, WKU will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to compete in the Pepsi Florida Relays March 29-31.
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