The UTM track and field squads concluded the indoor portion of the 2021 schedule with a promising performance at the Redhawks Open hosted by Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
With the cancelation of the OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Skyhawks wrapped up the indoor season on Saturday afternoon with a solid team performance which featured 19 scoring places and four first place finishes.
Freshman Darius Holland continued his impressive start to his Skyhawk career by posting his second title in three opportunities in the long jump. Already the school’s record-holder, Holland leapt to another event title with a distance of 6.99m in the finals.
Moving from one program record holder to another, sophomore Brady Fry returned to form with an outstanding meet in the 55m hurdles event. Fry not only set the new program benchmark in the event with a PR time of 7.88 seconds but earned first place honors.
Fry wasn’t the only Skyhawk to enjoy a strong performance in the 55m hurdles as sophomore Anndrea Chester placed second overall in the women’s field at 9.13 seconds. Meanwhile back on the men’s side, sophomore Jamire Thompson posted a new PR of his own with a time of 8.33 second.
Junior Jhon-Wes Walker began his decorated day by winning his first of two event titles in the 400m open. Walker posted a time of 54.34 seconds to win the 400m title before later coming back as part of the men’s 4×400 with teammates Corey Smith, Colby Martin and Marquerious Hayes to win the Skyhawks fourth title of the day with a time of 3:32.28.
Other standout performances were highlighted by Hayes who added to his 4×400 success with a new PR in the triple jump, posting a distance of 12.39m. The trio of Andre Brown (2:02.07), Brent Borden (2:02.22) and Joe Patterson (2:03.61) recorded great efforts in the 800m open to each finish in the top-six – including two scoring positions.
UTM will now turn its focus to the outdoor season which opens on March 26-27 at the Margaret Simmons Invite hosted by Murray State.
