Louisville, KY – The Patriots Men's track & field team competed at their first indoor meets of the 22-23 campaign this weekend. A handful of Patriots attended the BSC Indoor Icebreaker in Birmingham, AL on Friday while the rest of UC's team got their first action in Louisville at the Commonwealth College Opener on Saturday. Both meets featured teams from all levels, including multiple NCAA DI opponents.
The weekend was highlighted by multiple top-five finishes and a new school record in the 300m dash by
Elyon Bando. The sophomore clocked a 35.39 to put his name in the record books.
Kerrington Eubanks,
Jeremy Slaughter and
Jon O'Hair also raced in the 300m in Louisville, finishing with times of 35.60, 36.71, and 36.81 respectively.
Garrett Hadaway put together a podium performance as the lone Patriot in the 800m on Saturday. He paced his four laps in a personal best time of 2:03.76.
Deshawn Crowe also raced the 800m, but in Alabama where he finished in 2:02.09. Crowe also ran in the 600m where he placed fourth with a 1:26.01 time.
Tristan Petrey placed third in the pole vault with a 4.60m clearance.
Alex Lockhart vaulted 3.90m for sixth while teammate
Logan Lambo got his first action as a Patriot in this event, vaulting the bar at 3.85m for 13
th.
The 1000m run featured a trio of Patriots, finishing in order fifth, sixth, and seventh. Leading the way wad AJ Barker with a 2:44.64 1k. He was followed by
Dillan Melchiore and Clay Hogue who paced times of 2:46.48 and 2:46.52. UC also raced in the 3k where
Kyle Woodward and James Overholser paced times of 9:08.35 and 9:27.15 for seventh and 12
th place finishes.
UC's sprinters had some success on the day as well. Seven Patriots entered the blocks for the 200m led by
Ryan Long who placed 11
th and rounded the track in 22.96. Keanu Galima sprinted to a 23.09 finish for 12
th while
Nathan Howard was the third UC finisher placing 18
th in 23.65.
Andy Tchyombo was the front runner for Cumberlands in the 500m placing 12
th with a 1:09.30 time.
Matthew Yeary and
Alex Miller finished behind him in 13
th and 17
th while Christain Dingus crossed the finish line for 18
th.
Ryan Long and
Evan McCrickard took off in the final 60m prelims, finishing their races in 7:04 and 7.29 respectively.
9 Patriot throwers entered the shot put event with three posting top-10 performances.
Lucas Lambo led the pack with a 14.16m heave for sixth while
Carter Hemingway and
Heath Rexroat had throws of 12.57m and 12.36m for 9
th and 10
th. Lambo and Rexroat continued this success in the weight throw with 8
th and 10
th place finishes as well.
Colby Bales was the only jumper for UC this weekend. He competed in the high jump competition where he placed eighth after a 1.85m leap.
Cumberlands rounded out their weekend with the 4x400 relay. The relay squad featured Yeary, Tchyombo, Eubanks, and O'Hair and came away with a seventh place finish in 3:28.43
Coach Sowder was not surprised at his team's success in the first meet of the year saying "It's the start we wanted and expected… This program is going to turn some heads and it started today."
The Pats will return in 2023 on January 13
th for their next bout of indoor action. They will travel up I75 to Lexington, KY for the Kentucky Indoor Meet.
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