LOUISVILLE, Ky. – WKU Track & Field concluded day one action at the Lenny Lyles Invitational Friday at the Norton Sports & Learning Center. The Hilltoppers competed against the likes of Ohio State, Purdue, Memphis, and host Louisville.
Things got off to a strong start for WKU as Dreanna Wade, who continues to make her presence felt for the Hilltoppers. placed fourth in the 60 meter qualifier, finishing in 7.78.
Netanya Linares kicked things off for the tops in the 60 meter hurdles event of the pentathlon. The freshman came in third place after clocking a 8.96 in the event. Junior Rachel Payne finished 12th in the event finishing in 9.61.
Linares and Payne continued their strong performances in the pentathalon, placing 9th and 10th in the 800 respectively.
Hilltopper junior Ajla Basic placed sixth out of 36 competitors in the women's weight throw with a mark of 17.27m.
Coming off of a record setting performnce at the Bellarmine Open, Emilia Lesniak continued to impress here as well. The high jump graduate student cleared 1.78m (5-10). This brings her up to 34th in 2024 NCAA Indoor rankings. Her performance earned her fourth in the elite high jump.
Sophomore Rylee Evans added another top-25 performance for the Hilltoppers as well as she finished 25th in the 3000m. Evans' 10:40 time set a new personal record for her.
On the men's side of things, Brunel Desinor came away with the best finish of the day for the Hilltoppers following his debut. The freshman came in second in the 200 meter after posting a 22.03 time.
A trio of Hilltoppers performed well in the weight throw. Kaison Barton, Luke Stegman, and Connor Owens finished 11th, 12th, and 13th respectively in the event.
Through the first day full of events, there were eight Hilltoppers that came away with top-10 placements in their respective events.
Head Coach Brent Chumbley spoke on the team's performance after day one. "First day at Louisville was a good one for us. Brunel in the 200, Rylee in the 3k and Emilia in the high jump stand out from the days performances. Emilia was the second-place collegiate today with her PR of 1.78. Rylee also had a huge PR in the 3k by about 35 second. We look forward to going back for the second day tomorrow."
The Hilltoppers continue competition at the Lenny Lyles Invitational tomorrow morning. The meet is slated to continue with its first events starting at 10:00 A.M.
How to Follow XC/Track and Field: For complete information on WKU XC and T&F, follow the team on Twitter at WKUXCTF. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
Women's Results
60m
2nd -- Dreaanna Wade -- 7.78
60m Hurdles (Pent)
3rd -- Netanya Linares -- 8.96
12th -- Rachel Payne -- 9.61
200m (Unseeded)
18th -- Dreeanna Wade -- 25.79
800m
Lucy Rutherford --DNS
Addie Frisch -- DNS
800m Pent
9th -- Netanya Linares -- 2:32.61
10th -- Rachel Payne -- 2:33.06
3000m
25th -- Rylee Evans -- 10:40.57
High Jump (Pent.)
6th -- Netanya Linares -- 1.61m (5-03.25)
10th -- Rachel Payne -- 1.55m (5-01.00)
Long Jump
16th -- Haley Zell -- 5.06m (16-07.25)
Long Jump (Pent.)
6th -- Netanya Linares -- 5.16m (16-11.25)
12th -- Rachel Payne -- 4.81m (15-09.50)
Pole Vault (Unseeded)
13th -- Sophia Roskoski -- 3.53m (11-07.00)
13th -- Grace Turner -- 3.53m (11-07.00)
18th -- Jessica Phillip -- 3.38m (11-01.00
Natalie Papes -- NH
Shot put (Pent.)
11th -- Netanya Linares -- 8.81 (28-11.00)
15th -- Rachel Payne -- 8.37 (27--05.50)
Weight Throw
6th -- Ajla Basic -- 17.27m (56-08.00)
20th -- Aitana Safront Falomir -- 14.58m (47-10.00)
High Jump (Elite)
4th --Emilia Lesniak -- 1.78m (5-10.00)
Grace Turner -- NH
Men's Results
200m (Unseeded)
2nd -- Brunel Desinor -- 21.68
200m (Seeded)
19th -- Julian Klenner -- 22.03
400m (Unseeded)
18th -- Zack Martinez -- 50.80
800m
14th -- Wade Balcom -- 1:55.89
35th -- Jordan Eddy -- 2:00.51
3000m
38th -- Carson Sansenbach -- 9:25.57
DNS-- Michael House
Weight Throw
11th -- Kaison Barton -- 16.85m (55-03.50)
12th -- Luke Stegman -- 16.71m (54-10.00)
13th -- Connor Owens -- 15.82m (51-11.00)
