Tops Rack Up Trio of Event Titles, 28 Top-10 Finishes at IU Relays

Friday, January 25

Bloomington, Ind.

Western Kentucky University

IU Relays

Tops Rack Up Trio of Event Titles, 28 Top-10 Finishes at IU Relays

1/26/2019 8:38:00 PM | Track & Field

Results (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A trio of first-place finishes and 28 collective top-10 showings helped WKU Track and Field to another strong showing at this weekend's Indiana University Relays. The Hilltoppers saw Martin Owusu-Antwi and Ka'Ven Berry bring home titles while Myesha Nott claimed one for the Lady Toppers.

"We had some good things happen for us at the IU Relays this weekend," head coach Erik Jenkins shared. "We were able to stretch the events and really get a better idea of where we are at as a team. Anytime you can win an event is a positive and we won a few."

In addition to WKU and the host Hoosiers, Butler, FIU, Miami (OH), North Central College, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Velaasa, Vincennes and Wisconsin were all present at the weekend outing.

Owusu-Antwi had himself a meet, winning his first outing in the 200-meter dash of the season with a 21.45 mark. The senior also won the 60-meter dash prelims with a time of 6.85 before grabbing a sixth place finish in the finals (6.95).

Berry joined in the title winning with a victory in the 600-meter event, clocking a 1:21.10 mark – WKU's second-fastest time of the season. The senior also ran a leg of WKU's heat-winning 4x400-meter relay that finished fifth overall. Berry wrapped up his competition at the IU Relays with a season-best 1:55.22 in the 800-meter run.

Joining Berry on the relay squad (3:18.83) were Nigel Brown, David Kisotu Saruni and Abdur Kelly. WKU's eighth-place finishing relay unit was comprised of Lincoln Warren, Kevin Johnson, Josh Davis and Will Bush posted a time of 3:20.86.

WKU saw three Hilltoppers, including Owusu-Antwi, advance to the men's 60-meter finals as Davis, Owusu-Antwi and Kymari Gates finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Warren clocked a 6.99 mark for a ninth place showing in the event.

On to the 200-meter event, entering the weekend outing only one Hilltopper had ran the event, Bush. Owusu-Antwi and Gates (21.48) finished first and second while Davis (21.90), Oliver Alexandre (21.95) and Bush (22.00) finished fourth, sixth and eighth in the event.

The Red and White saw five Hilltoppers finish in the top-eight of the 600-meter event, led by Berry and Kelly (1:21.22) who finished first and second. Saruni (1:22.71) grabbed sixth, followed by Dedrick Troxell (1:23.68) and Warren (1:23.69) in seventh and eighth.

Maor Seged qualified for the 60-meter hurdles finals after running an 8.52 on Friday and finished sixth in the finals with a mark of 8.47 – his second-best time of the season.

Rounding out the top-10 finishes on the men's side, Sheldon Noble registered a 6.51-meter bound in the long jump for eighth place.

On the women's side, WKU saw Juannae Lewis grab an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a season-best 24.72 reading.

Nicole Ogorek added a 10^th-place showing in the pole vault with a season-best 3.50-meter clear.

From there, WKU saw the Lady Toppers rack up eight top-10 marks across the high jump, long jump and triple jump events. Freshman Nott picked up her second career event title in the triple jump with a personal best mark of 12.60 meters. Annastacia Forrester and Briana Eskridge both put up readings of 12.10 meters for third and fourth place respectively.

Forrester would take fifth place in the long jump (5.81 meters) while Eskridge (5.67 meters) finished eighth. Eskridge's mark was a career-best for the WKU junior.

Rounding out the top-10 performances was a trio of Lady Topper high jumpers. Freshman Katie Isenbarger led the way with a second-place finish of 1.73 meters – the top mark by a Lady Topper this season – for her third-straight finish of third place or better. Forrester and Eskridge both added jumps of 1.63 for fourth and fifth places respectively, determined by jumps. The clear was a season-best for Eskridge.

"I like the direction our team is headed and have identified the areas we need to continue to improve," Jenkins closed.

Next weekend, WKU Track and Field will attend its fourth meet in as many weekends as the squad heads for its first meet in the Commonwealth with the Red and White slated to compete at the Kentucky-hosted Rod McCravy Memorial Invite. The two-day meet from Lexington is set for Friday and Saturday from the Nutter Field House.

How to follow WKU Track & Field: For complete information on WKU Track & Field, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUTrackField.