Kentucky track and field finish with 18 individual event wins in Jim Green Invitational

A+Kentucky+track+and+field+athlete+competes+in+the+pole+vault+competition+during+the+Jim+Green+Invitational+meet+on+Saturday%2C+Jan.+12%2C+2019+in+Lexington%2C+Kentucky.+Photo+by+Jordan+Prather+%7C+Staff

A Kentucky track and field athlete competes in the pole vault competition during the Jim Green Invitational meet on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Jordan Prather | Staff

Samantha Money

Day two of the Jim Green Invitational wrapped up on Saturday, with Kentucky track and field placing at the top of several events.  

On the women’s side, Kentucky placed first in women’s shot put with Molly Leppelmeier throwing 15.30m. Leppelmeier’s throw blew away her competition with the next closest throw coming in at 14.14m.  

The women’s team dominated in the mile with six runners finishing in the top 10. Jenna Gearing placed second with a time of 4.43.40 seconds, while Tori Herman placed third with a time of 4.48.72 seconds. Jenna Schwinghamer, Rachel Boice, Mollie Roden, and Kaylie Kenne all followed close behind.  

Sophomore Kaylyn Heath finished second in the 60m dash with a time of 7.44 seconds, while  Masai Russell also finished second in the 60m hurdles, clocking in at 8.21 seconds.  

The Wildcats also secured the top three spots in the women’s 800m. Bryanna Lucas finished first with a time of 2:09:12 while teammates DeAnna Martin and Phoebe McCowan finished just fractions of a second behind.  

Rounding out the women’s events, both 4×400 teams finished first and second. Team A, consisting of Alexis Holmes, Abby Steiner, Megan Moss and Dajour Miles finished with a time of 3:33.02, while Team B consisting of Karimah Davis, Russell, Heath and Shadajah Ballard earned a time of 3:47.00.  

On the men’s side, the Wildcats reigned supreme in the field events with three first place awards.  

Keaton Daniel finished first in pole vault with a 5.50, while Joseph Palmer finished first in triple-jump with a 14.90. In shot put, Josh Sobota crushed his competitors with a throw of 19.19 that earned him first place.  

The men did not fall short in the running events as well, with multiple first place wins.  

Lance Lang came in first for the 60m dash with a time of 6.72. Langston Jackson finished right behind Lang with 6.77 seconds.  

Senior Brian Faust finished first in the 400m dash with a swift time of 46.72.  

Lastly, both men’s 4×400 relay teams took first and second. Faust, Lang, Dwight Hillaire, and Kennedy Lightner of Team A ran a 3:05.01 while Team B consisting of Jackson, Jacob Smith, Rodney Heath Jr and Kenroy Williams ran a 3:23.16.  

The 10 event wins on Saturday make 18 total first place finishes in the Jim Green Invitational over two days. 

The Wildcats next meet will take place in Lubbock, Texas on Friday, Jan. 21,hosted by the Texas Tech Red Raiders. 

Kentucky will return home to the Nutter Field House on Jan. 28 and 29 to host the Rod McCravy Memorial.