LEXINGTON, Ky. (1/16/16) – The Arkansas State University track and field program resumed the indoor season Saturday at the Kentucky Invitational and left with 13 top-10 performances to their credit.
"Solid performances this weekend," said A-State head coach Jim Patchell. "The first meet back after break is a chance for us to get back into training. We always train through the early meets to prepare us for the championships, but I think we competed well and are where we need to be for this early in the season."
Sophomore Jaylen Bacon logged his eighth career first place finish on the indoor circuit with a time of 6.72 seconds in the 60-meter dash. The time put him just shy of his program record of 6.70 seconds. He won the final by a one-tenth of a second over Nick Gray (7.82) of Ohio State. Bacon also raced in the 200-meter dash and clocked a time of 21.45 seconds to finish third.
Junior Cameron Echols-Luper made his A-State debut and won the long jump with a leap of 7.68m (25-02.50). His mark is the third-best jump in program history and ranks among the top-five nationally this season. Junior Roelf Pienaar, who did not jump this week, ranks second nationally with a mark of 7.82m (25-08.00).
Sophomore Kristina Knott posted two top-five finishes in each of the two events she competed. She leaped 5.81m (19-00.75) in the long jump to finish second while clocking a time of 24.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash to finish third.
Elsewhere on the track, sophomore Travius Chambers placed third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.62 seconds, just shy of his personal-best of 48.45 seconds. Sophomore Keturah Smith posted a personal-best of 56.02 seconds in the 400-meter dash to finish sixth. She improved upon her fourth-best time in program history of 56.08 seconds.
Sophomore De'Airis Weakley tied her personal-best in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.61 seconds to finish seventh. Senior Emenderlyn Iwuji added fifth place finish with a time of 8.62 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, good for fifth place. Senior Billy Ellis rounds out top-10 finishes on the track with an eighth-place finish of 8.34 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.
A-State added three top-10 finishes in field events, all coming in the high jump. Freshman Tiaan Steenkamp posted a third place finish clearing 2.09m (6-10.25) while David Phillips was 10th with a clearance of 1.99m (6-06.25). On the women's side, sophomore's Ivery Guyton and Darragh May finished fifth with clearances of 1.65m (5-05.00).
The Red Wolves return to action next weekend with their final home meet of the indoor season. The A-State Invitational gets underway Friday at the Convocation Center and concludes on Saturday.
