The Kentucky track and field team opened the outdoor season with 10 new top-10 times and distances to the school’s all-time records at the Black and Gold Invitational in Orlando, Florida. 

Over the two-day meet the Wildcats broke 38 personal bests, with 28 of those performances now standing as top-16 in the NCAA, while five now lead the nation.

After the meet, UK claimed the No. 1 spot in the mens and womens 400-meter dash, the mens 4-by-400 relay, 400-meter hurdles and womens long jump. 

The Wildcats’ first podium performance came as Logan Coles finished runner-up in the hammer throw with a throw of 202-feet-8-inches or 61.77 meters.

Justin Swann also achieved a podium position in his outdoor Wildcat debut as he recorded his personal best in the mens 800 meters with a time of 1:49.01, a time also worthy of the fifth best placement in the NCAA. 

Wayne Lawrence Jr. had a huge weekend as he took home first in the mens 400-meter, placing him first in the nation and fourth in UK’s all-time list. 

The last podium spot in the 400-meter came from Brian Faust, who placed third in the event with a time of 46.80.

The women also dominated the 100-meter hurdles, placing first and second in the event. 

Yasmin Brooks won the womens 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.55, which places her sixth in the country, and Shadajah Ballard placed runner-up, recording a time of 13.66, enough for eighth in the country. 

Dajour Miles recorded a time of 52.99 in the womens 400-meters, which earned her second in the event and the number one time in the country. 

Anthaya Charlton was a star throughout the competition when she broke the UK long jump record on the first day before following it up by placing first in the womens 100-meters with a time of 11.38.

Charlton’s teammate, Victoria Perrow, followed right behind her, placing second and achieving a personal best. 

UK saw another first place as Langston Jackson captured the 100-meters event with a tie of 10.31, a personal best and second in UK’s history. 

The UK relay teams also had a lot of success over the weekend as three different teams captured podium positions. 

UK’s 4-by-400 meters womens team, consisting of Karimah Davis, Dajour Miles, Megan Moss and Tamilia Fuller, placed first in the event while also recording the fourth best time in the NCAA, finishing with a time of 3:36.37. 

Both of the UK’s mens relay teams in the 4-by-400 meters placed on the podium as well. 

The first team, which included Faust, Lawrence Jr., Brandon Miller and Kennedy Lightner, recorded a time of 3:05.87, which was enough to earn them first place and the fastest time in the NCAA. 

The second UK team, made up of Tavon Williams, Beck O’Daniel, Brandon Nyandoro and Myles Anders, placed third with a time of 3:10.30.

Outside of all these podium positions there were plenty of other Wildcats that had a successful weekend, achieving personal bests and a spot in various school rankings. 

Kentucky track and field will turn its sights toward both the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, which begins on March 29, and the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California, which begins on March 31. Both events end on April 1.