WKU 4x100 Relay Wins; Montgomery Clears Third-Best Height in Program History

Friday, March 26

Oxford, Miss

Western Kentucky University

Ole Miss Classic

WKU 4x100 Relay Wins; Montgomery Clears Third-Best Height in Program History

3/27/2021 5:54:00 PM | Track & Field

OXFORD, Miss. – WKU Track & Field opened its outdoor season at the Ole Miss Classic and is returning home with 15 top-10 finishes, including a first-place finish by the men's 4x100-meter relay team and a top pole vault mark from sophomore Devon Montgomery. Many events had 20-plus individuals competing as the Red and White finished in the top five across eight different events. The Ole Miss Classic was the first time the majority of the squad has competed in an outdoor meet for WKU.

"We had some strong performances this weekend," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley. "We could tell this was our first meet after a month of solely training, and we're still battling a few injuries. Overall, it was a good meet. We're really looking forward to hosting the Hilltopper Relays next weekend and would love to see people out supporting the program."

The Hilltoppers were led by a first-place finish in the men's 4x100-meter relay. This was the whole relay team's first time running outdoor track for WKU as freshmen Elliott Bryant and Jonathan Allen are newcomers and seniors Dartez Hamlin and Marlowe Mosley did not experience an outdoor season in their first year on The Hill. The group turned in a 41.27 to cross the finish line first, putting them in the top-40 nationally in the event.

"It's a start and it's something to build off of," said assistant coach Tosha Ansley. "The 4x100 was pretty much just putting people out there, and there's a lot of cleaning up we need to do. Right now, it's a base and a start. We're just going to try to continue to build off what we've got going so far."

Montgomery also paced the squad after clearing the third-best pole vault height in Hilltopper Outdoor Track & Field history. His height of 4.72 meters (15' 5.75") is not only a personal best but is good for third in the record book. Montgomery's mark is bested only by Bob Sandidge who cleared 15' 7" in 1976 and Henry Wadsworth who cleared 16' 0.5" in 1965.

The distance squad notched several personal bests and top-10 finishes on the day. Junior Clint Sherman logged back-to-back PRs with a pair of seventh-place finishes in the 800 and 1,500-meter. Junior Dedrick Troxell finished fourth in the 1,500 with his own PR of 3:53.60.

Senior Savannah Heckman posted a pair of personal bests with an eighth-place finish in the 800-meter (2:20.43) and a fifth-place finish in the 1,500 (4:40.88).

"This meet was an opportunity to get familiar again with the outdoor track and see where we were after a hard cycle of training, and the group far exceeded my expectations," said assistant coach Brooks LeCompte. "My goal with this team has always been to develop them into a competitive group and this kicked us off better than I could have imagined. As I like to say, the proof is in the progress, so it's as simple as looking at where these student-athletes were and how much they're improving. It speaks for itself."

In her first ever outdoor track meet, freshman Rory O'Connor placed third in the 3,000-meter, clocking a 10:15.42.

"Rory has just returned from an injury during indoor season, and with her slow progression back to training, for her to run a 10:15 3k in the first track race of her life was incredible. Any college distance coach would tell you that is extremely rare. I am just so proud of this entire group and look forward to the rest of the season."

Sprinter sophomore Alexis Williams was also coming off an injury from indoor season and returned to the track to finish third in the 100 and fourth in the 200. She posted times of 12.01 and 24.66, respectively. Graduate senior Kevin Johnson finished fourth in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.83.

At the Ole Miss Classic, the Hilltoppers competed against top programs in Memphis, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, Indiana State and host Ole Miss.

WKU is slated to host the annual Hilltopper Relays at the Charles M. Ruter Track & Field Complex on April 2-3. There are 17 teams, including WKU, expected to compete. More information on the upcoming meet can be found under the Hilltopper Relays tab here.

Men's Results
100m
14^th – Marlowe Mosley – 23.53
200m
12^th – Steven Simmons – 22.42*
400m
8^th – Jonathan Allen – 49.42
400m H
4^th – Kevin Johnson – 54.83
800m
7^th – Clint Sherman – 1:56.46*
15^th – Luke Hoover – 2:00.05*
16^th – Dylan Duckworth – 2:01.98*
1,500m
4^th – Dedrick Troxell – 3:53.60*
7^th – Clint Sherman – 3:57.07*
5,000m
9^th – Will Perrone – 16:01.12
10^th – Miles Huff – 16:04.48*
3,000m Steeplechase
3^rd – Emerson Wells – 9:51.50
4x100-meter relay
1^st – Elliott Bryant, Marlowe Mosley, Jonathan Allen, Dartez Hamlin – 41.27*
Hammer Throw
12^th – John Elam – 49.68m
16^th – Kaison Barton – 49.17m*
20^th – Jake Robinson – 46.51m*
Discus
17^th – John Elam – 44.08m*
20^th – Jake Robinson – 39.75m*
Shot Put
14^th – Kaison Barton – 14.68m
17^th – John Elam – 14.30m
Pole Vault
10^th – Devon Montgomery – 4.72m* - Third in Hilltopper Outdoor records

Women's Results
100m
3^rd – Alexis Williams – 12.01*
200m
4^th – Alexis Williams – 24.66
800m
8^th – Savannah Heckman – 2:20.43*
1,500m
5^th – Savannah Heckman – 4:40.88*
14^th – Lucy Rutherford – 4:57.95
3,000m
3^rd – Rory O'Connor – 10:15.42*
Pole Vault
9^th – Grace Turner – 3.56m

*denotes collegiate PR