Mosley Wins 400, Tops Complete Third Meet of Season

Sunday, February 7

Birmingham, Ala.

Western Kentucky University

Jaguar Invitational

2/7/2021 8:28:00 PM | Track & Field

BIRMINGHAM – WKU Track & Field was led by graduate senior Marlowe Mosley at the Jaguar Invitational as he claimed the 400-meter title on Sunday afternoon. The Red and White completed its third of four regular season events at the Birmingham Crossplex, recording 17 top-10 finishes throughout the day.

Illinois native Mosley clocked a 48.44 in his first 400-meter race of the season, winning the individual event by .19 seconds. He bested his time from the 2020 Conference USA Indoor Championships by .33 seconds. His current mark is good for second place in the league.

"As far as his race was concerned, it was good to have a win," said sprints coach Tosha Ansley on Mosley's race. "We're still working on things, we've been running with weight vests a lot the last couple weeks. To see him run through the progressions like he did and follow the race plan, under a heavy load was good. It was a move toward what we're trying to get accomplished once conference comes in a few weeks. Overall, good win, he executed very well. I'm pleased in the direction that he's going in training."

The graduate senior sprinter placed second in the 200-meter, leading teammates Dartez Hamlin and Elliott Bryant who also competed in the event. Mosley served as the leadoff in the squad's first 4x400-meter relay of the season, as well. Bryant was within .01 seconds of qualifying for the 60-meter finals, with a new PR of 6.95.

The Hilltopper throwing group continued to show consistency and improve as a squad. Freshman Kaison Barton finished third in shot put (16.18m) and seventh in weight throw (16.13m), while junior Brett Brannon placed fifth in weight throw (16.67m). Barton has improved in both events in every collegiate meet so far.

"I was very happy with the male throwers today," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley. "It was by far the best competition we've seen, and we competed with them. Kaison hit a nice PR in the shotput to finish third and John had a PR as well. Brett and Kaison led us again in weight throw."

In addition to throwing PRs, the distance team also recorded some personal bests and top finishes across the day. Savannah Heckman finished fifth in the mile and third in the 5,000-meter. Casey Buchanan finished 12^th in the 800 in his indoor debut. Dedrick Troxell improved his mile time and finished second with a mark of 4:14.18.

"Today was a huge step forward for our group," said distance coach Brooks LeCompte. "Maddy (Hurt) had a big PR in the 3k and Savannah ran a very strong double starting with a nice mile PR and solid 5k afterwards. Dedrick improved on his mile season best and still has a lot of room to grow. The season openers from Clint Sherman and Casey Buchanan went fairly well. Overall, we still have minor things to fix but, today, we got better, and it put us a lot closer to where we want to be in two weeks' time. I'm very proud of all of their efforts today.

Sophomore Grace Turner led the pole vault event with a jump of 3.50 meters. She finished 14th. Freshman Allison Ferguson logged a personal best at 3.20 meters.

"In terms of pole vault, we jumped better than the results indicate," said Chumbley. "We did some really nice things and learned a lot today that should translate down the road."

WKU will have its quickest turnaround yet as it returns to the Crossplex on Friday for another Samford Invitational.

Men's Results
4x400-meter relay
6^th – Mosley, Allen, Hamlin, Buchanan – 3:22.48
60m
10^th after prelims – Elliott Bryant – 6.95*
13^th after prelims – Dartez Hamlin – 7.00
200m
2^nd – Marlowe Mosley – 21.67 (21.665)
4^th – Dartez Hamlin – 21.67 (21.667)
14^th – Elliott Bryant – 22.20 (22.193)*
400m
1^st – Marlowe Mosley – 48.44
18^th – Jonathan Allen – 51.99*
800m
12^th – Casey Buchanan – 1:56.97*
21^st – Clint Sherman – 1:58.46*
26^th – Dedrick Troxell – 1:59.63
1 mile
2^nd – Dedrick Troxell – 4:14.18
3000m
7^th – Clint Sherman – 8:48.81
8^th – Emerson Wells – 8:54.39
5000m
7^th – Will Perone – 16:10.51
Shot Put
3^rd – Kaison Barton – 16.18m*
7^th – John Elam – 15.12m*
Weight Throw
5^th – Brett Brannon – 16.67m
7^th – Kaison Barton – 16.13m*
11^th – Joel Dittoe – 15.36m
15^th – John Elam – 14.69m
Pole Vault
Devon Montgomery – NH

Women's Results
60m Hurdles
26^th after prelims – Audrey Griffin – 10.59
1 mile
5^th – Savannah Heckman – 5:11.76*
16^th – Lucy Rutherford – 5:36.07
3000m
10^th – Maddy Hurt – 10:57.74*
5000m
3^rd – Savannah Heckman – 18:18.49
6^th – Zoe Manning – 20:14.37*
Weight Throw
17^th – Mary Claire Redden – 13.03m
Pole Vault
14^th – Grace Turner – 3.50m
23^rd – Nikki Ogorek – 3.20m
23^rd – Allison Ferguson – 3.20m*

*signfies collegiate PR