Bloomington, IL - The Oakland City University men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Keck Invite, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. A number of Mighty Oaks set personal bests, as the men's team finished in eighth place, while the women placed ninth.
Jolea Kennedy ran a personal best in the mile with a time of 6:47.83, while
Tamerra English set new PRs in the 60m (8.22) and the 60m hurdles (10.74).
Rayona Chisolm also set a new personal best in the 60 meter sprint at 8.31 seconds, while
Rayya Lee set new marks in the 60m (8.16) and the 60m hurdles (9.35), where she placed fourth.
Aniyah Johnson's time in the 400 meter race was the best of her career, crossing the line in 1:04.55, while
Tanisha English set new personal bests in the long jump (4.20m) and the shot put (8.30m). Ellie Hasenour ran new personal bests in the mile (6:29.12) and the 3k meter race (13:26.01), while new marks were reached by
Grace Tompkins in high jump (1.45m) and
Halley Powers in the pole vault (2.10m).
On the men's side,
Bayero Hamadou ran the 60 meter dash in a personal best 7.25 seconds, while
Mason Britt set new marks in the high jump (1.75m) and the long jump (6.50m). Ka'shon Bell also set a new personal best in the triple jump at 13.20m, placing second in the field.
"I am very pleased with everyone's performance on the men and women's side," said OCU head coach
Audrey Sparks. "Rayya just keeps dropping time in the 60 and the 60 Hurdles.
Raegan Heldt keeps dropping time in the 800."
Point scorers on the women's side were Lee with four points in the 60m hurdles, 16th in the 200m and ninth in the long jump, Johnson with her ninth place finish in the 400m and 12th in the 200m, Heldt with her 15th place in the 800m, Ellie Hasenour with 14th in the 3k meter, Evie Hasenour with 2nd in the 5k meter, Tompkins with 14th in the high jump, and English with 15th in the long jump.
For the men, Merdi Llonga placed fifth in the 400m, Britt placed fifth in the long jump and sixth in the high jump, Hamadou earned fourth in the 200m, and Bell finished second in the triple jump.
"Merdi is killing it at practice and at the meets," continued Sparks. "He currently is training for sprints only but has stated interest in transitioning to middle distance events for outdoor season."
The next meet for the OCU track and field teams is the NCCAA Indoor Championship. 12 athletes in total qualified to compete for the NCCAAs indoor championships races
