Kentucky track and field earns ten wins at Rod McCravy Memorial

Michael Clubb

A University of Kentucky track and field athlete gets ready for a race during the Jim Green Invitational at the Nutter Field House on Saturday, January 12, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Michael Clubb | Kentucky Kernel

Jack Spurgeon, Reporter

Kentucky track and field totaled 10 event wins at the Rod McCravy Memorial meet in Lexington.

Entering the event as the No. 2 overall mens and No. 3 overall womens teams, Kentucky finished the weekend off with 10 total event wins that included five on Friday.

Kentucky sophomore Anthaya Charlton claimed the first win of the two-day event for the Wildcats on the 20-foot long jump, finishing at 20’3.5” or 6.18 meters, which moved Charlton to No. 8 on the UK all-time list.

Senior Masai Russell also dashed to a win in the womens 60-meter hurdles, recording her personal best time of 7.88 seconds, which marked the second-fastest time in school history, just .01 seconds off of Keni Harrison’s historic school record in the 2015 NCAA Final.

Russell’s time also tied for 10th in all NCAA history, also standing as the nation’s fastest mark thus far into the season.

The women also came out victorious in the weight throw, with junior Simi Akinrinsola throwing for an impressive 63’2 or 19.25-meters.

Kentucky’s Jenna Schwinghamer, Christal Mosley, DeAnna Martin and Tori Herman made history in the two-day event with a win in the DMR, posting a time of 11:17.69, which moved the four of them up to No. 9 on the UK all-time list.

On the mens side, Jordan Anthony got the Wildcats started on Saturday with a win in the mens 60-meter dash, posting a 6.57. Anthony, who is also a freshman wide receiver for the Wildcats’ football team, set a school freshman record and the second-fastest in program history just behind former Olympian Tim Harden.

Junior Keaton Daniel then broke his own school record for the second meet in a row in the mens indoor pole vault. Daniel cleared a towering 18’5.25 or 5.62-meters on his first try at that height, surpassing his previous school record by four inches.

John O’Donnell and Justin Swann also recorded an impressive 1-2 finish in the mens 800-meter run as O’Donnell posted a time of 1:51.26 while Swann trailed closely behind at 1:51.97, co-leading the pack to another Wildcat victory.

This event itself, hosted in Lexington, was named in honor of the late Kentucky track athlete Rod McCravy, and was expected to be the last indoor meet inside of the Nutter Field House, with the announced construction of a new indoor facility. The new facility is set to be named after Jim Green.

Kentucky track and field is set to continue its season on Friday, Jan. 20, as it is set to participate in the Texas Tech sprints event in Lubbock, Texas. The school is also scheduled to take part in a meet hosted by Vanderbilt on the same day, with that meet planned to stretch over two days.