Murray State track and field claimed new records last weekend at the Indiana University Relays in Bloomington, Ind.
“Indiana was definitely a step in the right direction,” said Head Coach Jenny Severns.
Brittany Bohn, Emma Gilmore, Tia Weston and Natalie Pattin now hold the record in the 3200-meter relay with a time of 9:15.09. The school record, set in 1990, had been 9:27.74.
“They broke the school record by 12 seconds and that was awesome. I’m really proud of all of them,” Severns said.
Tonia Pratt set a personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 19.58 meters, which is a U.S. Track and Field qualifying distance. This was a career-high for Pratt. She landed a spot on the Murray State all-time best list once again. Pratt also set a personal record in the shot put with a distance of 13.94 meters. In shot put, Pratt placed fifth out of 18 competitors.
“This meet was a good stepping stone for me,” Pratt said. “I’m starting to see all my hard work from all season start to pay off.”
Other athletes who had season-best performances at last weekend’s meet include:
-Pattin competed in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:38.03, a personal best.
-Vallery Korir set a personal record in the 3000-meter run at 10:09.90.
-Abbie Lukens landed on the Murray State all-time best list when she threw 12.77 meters and placed 10th out of 18.
Going into this next week, the Murray State track and field teams will travel to Carbondale, Ill., for the Carbondale invitational.
Severns said the meet will be one of the more competitive of the season but is confident that her team will continue to improve.
Story by Da’Sha Tuck, Staff writer