WKU Racks Up 24 Top-Five Finishes at Hilltopper Relays

Friday, April 2

Charles M. Ruter Track & Field Complex

Western Kentucky University

Hilltopper Relays

Photo by: Steve Roberts/WKU Athletics

4/3/2021 9:00:00 PM | Track & Field

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Track & Field hosted its very own Hilltopper Relays and is walking away from the weekend with 24 top-five finishes across the men's and women's sides of competition. The Hilltoppers won five different events: the 100-meter, 200-meter, 800-meter, 5,000-meter and 4x100-meter relay.

"Hosting a meet is always difficult for a staff, but it shows you the kind of student-athletes and people you have on your team," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley. "I have never been prouder of a team than I was this weekend. They competed at a high level without the coaches' constant attention in their own events, while also working check-in and other events throughout the meet. We had a lot of great performances across the board. I believe this weekend gave us a little more identity of who we are and where we want to be as a team. There is no way to single out just one or two things from the team, or even my event groups; it was just an overall great weekend to be a Hilltopper."

Winning events on the men's side were Dartez Hamlin, Jonathan Allen, Casey Buchanan, Clint Sherman and the 4x100-meter relay squad.

In the process of winning the 5,000-meter, Sherman logged a 40-second personal best, beating all other competitors in the field by 20 seconds or more. Both Will Perrone and Miles Huff logged 30-second PR's in the same event.

On the women's side, Savannah Heckman logged a 40-second PR to finish second in the 5,000-meter and freshman Lucy Rutherford placed third by running in 17:36.85. Junior Carley Maskos also recorded a personal best in the race.

The distance crew continued their streak of personal bests and first-place finishes on Saturday as freshman Casey Buchanan debuted in the outdoor season with a PR and win in the 800-meter. Junior Dedrick Troxell was just behind him to finish second, also with a PR. The female distance squad ran nine times this weekend, logging personal bests on eight of those occasions.

"The Hilltopper Relays was a huge success for the distance program," said assistant coach Brooks LeCompte. "We still have a few things to work on but overall it was a great weekend. With WKU historically known as a powerhouse distance program, to have alumni in attendance talking to the group and telling me how this team is looking better than it has in years is great to hear. The student-athletes will use it as motivation to keep pushing for greatness."

In the sprinting events, there were even more 1-2 finish combinations. Hamlin and junior Steven Simmons finished first and second, respectively, in the 100-meter. The pair was separated by only 0.04 seconds. Freshman Allen PR'ed by 1.2 seconds in the 200-meter to take first place. Marlowe Mosley finished in the two-spot, just 0.03 seconds behind him.

All four of those male sprinters combined to finish first in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.43. Sophomore Alexis Williams recorded a personal best in the 200-meter at 24.03. She finished third while competing on WKU's home track for the very first time.

"It feels like we have a really strong group to train with at this point," said assistant coach Tosha Ansley. "Coming off some bumps and bruises, I was really pleased with Dartez and Steven's performances in the 100-meter. Jonathan Allen shocked us all with a 1.2 second PR in the 200 to win it, which just makes us that much stronger as a group. Last weekend, we were shaking the dust off and finding a starting point. This weekend felt like we were getting back into it, and now we really know what we need to do in the coming weeks of training. I felt like I hardly saw them compete this weekend, but they went out and did what they needed to do, showing some improvement in the process."

The throws crew continued to improve as they logged multiple large PR's in the hammer throw and other events. Freshman Kaison Barton finished in the top five in discus and shot put while junior John Elam did the same in shot put and hammer throw. Junior Brett Brannon placed fifth in hammer throw as well.

Next up, WKU is slated to compete in the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina on April 9-10.

Women's Results
200m
3rd – Alexis Williams – 24.03*
800m
7^th – Savannah Heckman – 2:20.21*
1500m
16^th – Lucy Rutherford – 4:57.10*
18^th – Jenna Vaughn – 5:01.67*
31^st – Carley Maskos – 5:33.01*
32^nd – Heather Whitlow – 5:45.05*
5000m
2^nd – Savannah Heckman – 17:12.60*
3^rd – Lucy Rutherford – 17:36.85*
10^th – Carley Maskos – 19:19.09*
3000m Steeplechase
3^rd – Maddy Hurt – 12:14.78
High Jump
6^th – Grace Turner – 1.55m (5' 1")
Pole Vault
2^nd – Grace Turner – 3.60m (11' 9.75")
3^rd – Nikki Ogorek – 3.45m (11 3.75")
4^th – Allison Ferguson – 3.30m (10' 10")
Discus
14^th – Mary Claire Redden – 25.80m (84' 8")
Hammer
15^th – Mary Claire Redden – 38.53m (126' 5")*
16^th – Rachel Flinchum – 37.30m (115' 7")*
Javelin
7^th – Allison Ferguson – 28.64m (93' 11")*
13^th – Audrey Griffin – 20.29m (66' 7")*
14^th – Heather Whitlow – 16.62m (54' 6")*

Men's Results
100m
1^st – Dartez Hamlin – 10.76*
2^nd – Steven Simmons – 10.80*
200m
1^st – Jonathan Allen – 21.45* (PR by 1.2 seconds)
2^nd – Marlowe Mosley – 21.48
400m
11^th – Cedric Johnson – 52.84*
800m
1^st – Casey Buchanan – 1:53.48*
2^nd – Dedrick Troxell – 1:54.50*
15^th – Dylan Duckworth – 2:02.94
17^th – Luke Hoover – 2:05.99
1500m
2^nd – Dedrick Troxell – 3:53.86
3^rd – Clint Sherman – 3:54.11*
15^th – Will Perrone – 4:13.08*
16^th – Miles Huff – 4:13.70*
5000m
1^st – Clint Sherman – 14:38.01
6^th – Will Perrone – 15:26.91*
9^th – Miles Huff – 15:34.41*
3000m Steeplechase
2^nd – Emerson Wells – 9:45.89
4x100-meter relay
1^st – Jonathan Allen, Marlowe Mosley, Steven Simmons, Dartez Hamlin – 41.43
4x400-meter relay
5^th – Casey Buchanan, Dedrick Troxell, Luke Hoover, Dylan Duckworth – 3:31.40
7^th – Kaison Barton, Jake Robinson, John Elam, Joel Ditto – 4:50.49
Long Jump
11^th – Cedric Johnson – 5.83m (19' 1.5")*
Shot Put
3^rd – Kaison Barton – 15.57m (51' 1")
4^th – John Elam – 14.94m (49' 0.25")
13^th – Jake Robinson – 11.02m (36' 2")*
Discus
5^th – Kaison Barton – 44.04m (144' 6")*
8^th – Jake Robinson – 39.61m (129' 11")
9^th – Joel Dittoe – 39.44m (129' 5")*
Hammer
3rd – John Elam – 52.63m (172' 8")*
5^th – Brett Brannon – 50.30m (165' 0")*
7^th – Joel Dittoe – 50.12m (164' 5")*
9^th – Kaison Barton – 46.07m (151' 2")
12^th – Jake Robinson – 40.35m (132' 4")

*designates Division I collegiate PR