O'Connor, Williams Stand Out at Gamecock Invite

Saturday, April 10

Columbia, S.C.

Western Kentucky University

Gamecock Invitational

4/10/2021 6:27:00 PM | Track & Field

COLUMBIA, S.C. – WKU Track & Field recorded 13 top-five finishes, including a 5,000-meter win by freshman Rory O'Connor, at the Gamecock Invite hosted by South Carolina on Saturday. It was the Hilltoppers' second SEC hosted meet of the season as the squad competed against nearly 30 teams and several unattached athletes.

In her first collegiate victory, O'Connor defeated 22 other runners by at least 15 seconds after posting an 18:08.02. To add to the victory, she has not competed in two weeks after battling an injury.

"The highlight again for the distance group was Rory O'Connor," said assistant coach Brooks LeCompte on the day. "After Ole Miss, she suffered a knee injury which has limited her cross training for the last two weeks. She was pain free two days ago so we decided to give it a go. Thankfully, she finished unscathed with a massive victory in her 5k collegiate debut. 18:08 is a great start and would put her currently 10^th in the conference rankings. To have three girls in the top 10 in our conference is certainly not what anyone is expecting of us, but we wouldn't want it any other way."

O'Connor was not the only distance runner to log a personal best on Saturday. Sophomore Carley Maskos finished with a PR in the 1500 and 5000 as junior Savannah Heckman finished fourth in the 1500. On the men's side, junior Clint Sherman continued his streak of PR's with a personal best and fourth-place finish in the 800, just ahead of teammate Dedrick Troxell. The pair went 2-3, Troxell then Sherman, in the 1500 with Troxell recording the PR in that event.

"We had some great performances today, and some that did not go our way," added LeCompte. "With how well the entire team ran last weekend, I wasn't expecting them to exceed that on such a short turnaround. However, we did have some great races and PRs."

Lady Topper sprinter Alexis Williams was also a highlight for the squad as she finished with two top-10 finishes and personal bests in both of her races. She finished eighth in the 100-meter with an 11.69. Williams posted a 23.58 in the 200-meter to finish fourth out of the 83 women that competed in the event. Both marks put her second in conference as of Saturday afternoon.

"Alexis ran a lifetime best in the 200, so that was a really good PR for her," assistant coach Tosha Ansley said on the race. "At the moment that she ran it, her time would be good for 22^nd regionally. Of course, that's going to update this evening, but that was very exciting for me and for her. She is still working on her start, so when we get that better, she should be able to run even faster and I'm really excited for that."

Staying in the sprinting group, junior Steven Simmons also logged a PR in the 200-meter while Marlowe Mosley finished fourth in the 400 at 47.62. That time puts him in sixth in C-USA as of Saturday afternoon. The 4x100-meter relay team also logged a season-best with a time of 41.11.

"The 4x1, it was a season best for them, but we still have some work to do on exchanges and making sure people can get out on time," Ansley added. "Then we need to actually push through and work on passing the stick cleanly so that it does not slow down during their zones. That was okay but my goal is always going to 40.39 for them, somewhere around there. 41.11, yes, it is a season best, but I want more."

The throws group added to the PRs and top-five finishes as junior Mary Claire Redden recorded a solid personal best in hammer throw at 40.20 meters. All four male throwers also logged a personal best over the course of the day. John Elam and Brett Brannon earned theirs in hammer throw finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. Those marks put them in sixth and ninth in the league.

Freshman Kaison Barton finished fifth in shot put with a PR of 16.30 meters. That is good for fourth in C-USA men's shot put as of Saturday afternoon. Joel Dittoe finished off the day with a personal best in discus at 40.57 meters.

"The throwers had several PRs and are getting more comfortable with the changes that come with throwing outdoors compared to throwing indoors," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley.

Sophomore Grace Turner led the pole vault group after clearing a height of 3.61 meters. Nikki Ogorek and Allison Ferguson posted marks of 3.46 meters and 3.26 meters, respectively.

"The pole vaulters are closing in on what they need to do and the proper adjustments they have to make based on the weather conditions, so we're excited about that progress," Chumbley added on the group.

"All around we saw good things from the whole squad today. We're looking forward to the next two weeks of training and should be in good form across the board by the time we compete in Louisville."

Women's Results
100m
8^th – Alexis Williams – 11.69*
200m
4^th – Alexis Williams – 23.58*
1500m
4^th – Savannah Heckman – 4:44.47
14^th – Lucy Rutherford – 5:01.09
35^th – Carley Maskos – 5:24.05*
43^rd – Heather Whitlow – 5:46.60
3000 Steeplechase
2^nd – Lucy Rutherford – 12:05.88*
3^rd – Maddy Hurt – 12:27.17
5000m
1^st – Rory O'Connor – 18:08.02*
10^th – Carley Maskos – 19:03.39*
Hammer Throw
14^th – Mary Claire Redden – 40.20m*
High Jump
8^th – Grace Turner – 1.55m
Javelin
14^th – Allison Ferguson – 26.01m
17^th – Audrey Griffin – 17.60m
Pole Vault
10^th – Grace Turner – 3.61m
15^th – Nikki Ogorek – 3.46m
18^th – Allison Ferguson – 3.26m

Men's Results
200m
24^th – Steven Simmons – 22.06*
400m
4^th – Marlowe Mosley – 47.62
14^th – Jonathan Allen – 49.69
800m
4^th – Clint Sherman – 1:55.99*
5^th – Dedrick Troxell – 1:56.16
1500m
2^nd – Dedrick Troxell – 3:53.43*
3^rd – Clint Sherman – 3:55.12
14^th – Will Perrone – 4:19.60
17^th – Miles Huff – 4:25.67
3000 Steeplechase
5^th – Emerson Wells – 10:08.91
5000m
9^th – Will Perrone – 15:50.54
4x100-meter relay
3^rd – 41.11
Hammer Throw
6^th – John Elam – 53.92m*
7^th – Brett Brannon – 51.41m*
8^th – Joel Dittoe – 49.87m
13^th – Kaison Barton – 43.07m
Shot Put
5^th – Kaison Barton – 16.30m*
Discus
10^th – John Elam – 42.93m
12^th – Joel Dittoe – 40.57m*
14^th – Kaison Barton – 38.42m

*designates DI Collegiate PR