Kentucky track and field finds success in both Seattle and Clemson
Kentucky Wildcats thrower Josh Sobota participates in the 2022 Commonwealth College Opener on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at the Norton HealthCare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo provided by UK Athletics. Kentucky Track and Field competed at Commonwealth Opener. Photo by Ethan Rand | UK Athletics
February 16, 2023
Competing in two events across the country, Kentucky track and field found different ways to win in both.
The squad was spread out across two locations this past weekend, one group being at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina, and the other being in the Husky Invitational in Seattle, Washington.
In Clemson, Masai Russell continued her run of form, winning the 60-meter hurdles, which shouldn’t come as a shock considering she is undefeated in hurdles races this year. Her winning time was recorded at 7.94 on Friday.
With the win Russell has won the 60-meter hurdles race at all four different meets where she’s participated in the event this season.
The Tiger Paw also saw a personal best for Logan Coles, who was participating in the mens open weight throw. Coles recorded a 65-feet and nine-inch (20.04 meters) throw which moved him to sixth all-time amongst all UK performers.
Saturday then brought even more successes for the Wildcats.
Josh Sobota, similar to Russell, picked up his fourth win of the season, winning the shot-put competition with a 65-foot-4.25-inch (19.92-meter) performance.
Luke Brown also put-up noteworthy numbers on the long jump in Clemson.
Brown, in his season-debut, jumped 53 feet, 11 inches (16.43 meters). He currently holds the school record for the triple-jump and ended up finishing second in the event.
Over in Seattle, Jenna Schwinghammer placed third in the womens 800-meter run, recording a personal best time of 2:04.84. Schwinghammer placed the highest out of any Wildcat in the event.
Sydney Steely also finished in sixth place with a time of 2:04.94, which ended up being a personal best for her at Kentucky. The time also brought her to No. 3 on the UK all-time performers’ list for the event.
Looking past the events, the next couple of weeks are spread out for the Kentucky track and field team.
First, distance runners from the squad are competing at the Arkansas Qualifier meet which begins on Friday, Feb. 17.
After the qualifier, the complete squad will be at the SEC Indoor Championships, which are set to begin on Feb. 24. The SEC Championships are being held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the same place as the Arkansas Qualifier and the location of which the Wildcats completed the Razorback Invitational from Jan. 27-28.
