UTM track and field wraps up strong weekend at Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational

The UTM track and field programs returned to action this weekend after a two-week break and produced nice results in a loaded field at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational.

The Skyhawks posted several new personal bests in the two-day event in one of the team’s final primers prior to the OVC Outdoor Championships in nearly a month.

The weekend’s highlights began on Friday evening in the men’s 200m as Corey Smith posted a new PR of his own with a time of 22.15 to finish fifth overall in the field.

As the Skyhawks stepped up in distance, so did their dominance on Friday night. In the two 1500m heats, UTM led the pack in both groups. Luke McNair paced Section 1 with a time of 3:52.61 to finish first overall while Austin Knight led Section 2 at 4:06.08. Brent Borden (4:06.78) also finished in the top-10.

In the 5k competition, Erica Fisher posted a new outdoor PR with an eighth-place finish at 17:30.88 – besting her previous time by nearly 27 seconds. Then on the men’s side, the Skyhawks posted three top-eight finishes and individual PRs led by Alex Schell, Daniel Smith and Will Oglesby. Schell paced the squad with a second-place finish with a time of 14:47.56 while Smith was not far behind at 14:47.83 to place third. Oglesby rounded out the group in sixth at 14:52.34.

On Saturday it was William Graves who started off the highlights with a strong showing in the men’s steeple with a time of 10:33.43 to just miss out on a new PR.

In the sprinting groups, Addison Taylor posted a new PR in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.95. Then in the men’s 110m hurdles, Jamire Thompson recorded his own PR at 15.30 to finish third in the event.

Then in the men’s 800m, the Skyhawks had several impressive performances – including four new PRs in the event. Oisin O’Gailin paced the Skyhawks with a fifth-place finish at 1:53.39 while the group of Jhon-Wes Walker finished eight at 1:54.72 for a new PR. Andre Brown won his heat with a PR time of 1:55.39 while Joe Patterson (1:56.22) and Hawken Foote (1:57.34) also recorded new personal bests in the event.

UTM will compete in the squad’s final tune-up prior to the OVC Outdoor Championships on Saturday, May 1 at the Tennessee Challenge.