Barton, Mosley Make Podium on Final Day of C-USA Championships

Sunday, May 16

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Western Kentucky University

Conference USA Outdoor Championships

Barton, Mosley Make Podium on Final Day of C-USA Championships

5/16/2021 8:37:00 PM | Track & Field

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – WKU Track & Field was led by freshman thrower Kaison Barton and senior sprinter Marlowe Mosley as both reached the podium on the final day of the Conference USA Outdoor Championships.

"We're obviously disappointed with the team finish on both sides," said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brent Chumbley said on the meet. "Injuries and other adversity hit us hard in the last three weeks, so we were unable to compete at full strength like we would've wanted. On a positive note, everyone that competed this weekend will be back next year and the entire team left their hearts on the track today. I can't begin to count the number of PRs we had, which is exactly what you want at conference. I hope the WKU fans are as proud of these men and women as I am."

The entire Hilltopper squad saw several personal bests on the day that led to points scored in six different events. Barton led the crew by scoring eight points with a second-place finish in the shot put. He threw a personal best 17.01 meters to earn the silver medal.

"Kaison stands out with his second-place finish," said Chumbley. "He had an amazing PR today and didn't step outside the ring once between his flight and finals. He's competing with the best of them in the conference."

Mosley racked up the most points by a Hilltopper individual on Sunday, combining his 200 and 400 placements for 11 points total. He placed third in the 400-meter with a personal best 46.23. The time securely qualifies him for the NCAA East Regionals at the end of the month. He finished fourth in the 200 with at time of 20.94, 0.15 seconds faster than his preliminary time and previous PR.

"He just missed qualifying for Regionals in the 200 but he did qualify for the regionals in 400," said assistant coach Tosha Ansley. "Currently, he's going into it as 24^th in the East Region, which considering before this weekend he was 60^th and then yesterday he was 40-something then today into 24^th, it was amazing. I'm very happy and pleased with him in that aspect. He hasn't had PRs like that in a very long time so it was very exciting to watch."

Mid-distance sprinter Casey Buchanan finished just outside the podium for the 800. He logged a new personal best of 1:52.51 to close out his freshman season on The Hill with a fourth-place finish.

Dedrick Troxell finished fifth in the men's 1500 with a massive PR of 3:48.38, besting his previous time by over two seconds. His time is just outside the top-10 in WKU male outdoor history, and he is the fifth-best performer in the event in school history.

"Dedrick had a huge PR in the 1500 and continues improving in the middle distance which is great for our team," said Chumbley on the runner.

Sophomore sprinter Alexis Williams contributed five points on the women's side as she placed sixth in the 200 and seventh in the 100. She's on the bubble to qualify for NCAA East Regionals at the end of the month.

"Happy to have Alexis back and able to run after everything she's dealt with in the last couple weeks," added Ansley. "She is on the bubble right now in the East Region for Jacksonville so we'll be there in a couple weeks. We'll be taking both her and Marlowe down there to qualify and try and run in the first rounds of Nationals."

Grace Turner also scored in high jump for the second consecutive season, tying for fifth place with a jump of 1.65 meters.

"Grace came through once again in high jump with a fifth-place finish," said Chumbley on the sophomore. "She battled all weekend through some illness, so it was great to see her come out near the top."

Devon Montgomery added on to WKU's point total with two points and a seventh-place finish in pole vault.

"Devon scoring points in pole vault was a big move for him today," added Chumbley. "We'll need that from him moving forward as well."

The mid-distance and distance crew combined for eight top-10 finishes across numerous races.

"We came into these championships about as prepared as we could have wanted and they went out there and gave it their all," said assistant coach Brooks LeCompte on the crew. We had some great 10k debuts, although some didn't run exactly what they were hoping to, it was our first time as a group really sticking our nose in it with the top runners in the conference, and they know the more we do that, the more it will continue to elevate our performances."

"I am so proud of the season these kids have had with all the PRs and breakthrough performances despite all the adversity we had. It really showed this weekend that we are a vastly improved distance team that will be here to content with any team for years to come. We have a lot of work ahead of us still, but we are hungry to get after it with everyone returning and a big 2021 incoming class of talented runners joining us in the fall," added LeCompte.

The WKU men finished 10^th with 30 points while the women finished 12^th with 10.5 points.

Men's Results
100m
12^th after prelims – Steven Simmons – 10.81
200m
2^nd through prelims – Marlowe Mosley – 21.16
4^th after finals – Marlowe Mosley – 20.94* - 5 points
400m
3^rd through prelims – Marlowe Mosley – 46.74
3^rd after finals – Marlowe Mosley – 46.23* - 6 points
800m
5^th through prelims – Casey Buchanan – 1:52.78
17^th after prelims – Dedrick Troxell – 1:56.16
4^th after finals – Casey Buchanan – 1:52.51* - 5 points
1500m
7^th through prelims – Dedrick Troxell – 3:53.19
5^th after finals – Dedrick Troxell – 3:48.38* – 4 points
5,000m
10^th – Clint Sherman – 14:40.37
26^th – Will Perrone – 15:40.75
DNF – Miles Huff
10,000m
9^th – Clint Sherman – 30:28.34
14^th – Will Perrone – 32:07.15
17^th – Miles Huff – 33:40.61
Hammer Throw
9^th – Brett Brannon – 51.20m (168')
10^th – John Elam – 50.49m (165' 8")
11^th – Jake Robinson – 50.32m (16' 1")*
13^th – Kaison Barton – 48.50m (159' 1")
Discus
16^th – Kaison Barton – 43.87m (143' 11")
17^th – John Elam – 41.32m (135' 7")
18^th – Jake Robinson – 38.97m (127' 10")
19^th – Brett Brannon – 38.31m (125' 8")*
Shot Put
2^nd – Kaison Barton – 17.01m (55' 9.75")* - 8 points
9^th – John Elam – 15.81m (51' 10.5")*
Pole Vault
7^th – Devon Montgomery – 4.61m (15' 1.5") – 2 points

Women's Results
100m
7^th through prelims – Alexis Williams – 11.89
7^th after finals – Alexis Williams – 11.84 – 2 points
200m
7^th through prelims – Alexis Williams – 24.29
6^th after finals – Alexis Williams – 24.33 – 3 points
5,000m
10^th – Savannah Heckman – 17:36.83
14^th – Rory O'Connor – 17:58.68
23^rd- Lucy Rutherford – 18:22.77
36^th – Carley Maskos – 19:15.28
41st - Maddy Hurt - 19:37.98
10,000m
7^th – Rory O'Connor – 35:58.32 - 2 points
9^th – Savannah Heckman – 36:29.36
17^th – Carley Maskos – 38:43.60
3,000-meter Steeplechase
10^th – Maddy Hurt – 11:34.21*
14^th – Lucy Rutherford – 11:54.78
Hammer Throw
19^th – Mary Claire Redden – 41.49m (136' 1")*
Pole Vault
11^th – Grace Turner – 3.58m (11' 9")
16^th – Nikki Ogorek – 3.58m (11' 9")
18^th – Allison Ferguson – 3.43m (11' 3")*
High Jump
t-5^th – Grace Turner – 1.65m (5' 5") – 3.5 points

*denotes DI collegiate PR
Bold, points earned