Story by John Morris, Staff writer
The Murray State women’s track and field team pulled double duty Friday and Saturday as some of the team spent the day in Carbondale, Illinois, while others went to the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.
Southern Illinois University has been a common place for the Racers to compete, but they ran into new territory again when competing at Notre Dame.
Friday at the Meyo Invitational, sophomore distance runner Vallery Korir set a new school record in the 5,000-meter with a time of 17 minutes 6 seconds, breaking the record she set in 2015. Sophomore distance runner Meagan Smith finished with a time of 17 minutes 48 seconds, which placed her sixth all time in Murray State as well as set a new personal record.
The team consisted of senior distance runners Ali Hester, Emma Gilmore, Brittany Bohn and freshman sprinter Jocelyn Payne. The team finished with a time of 11 minutes 55 seconds, a new record at Murray State, topping the previous record set in 2015.
“We just got a school record in the DMR [distance meter relay] this weekend, and as far as the whole team goes, the last two weeks my teammates have produced school records and personal records across the board,” Gilmore said. “So I’m really proud of them and excited to see how we can do at OVC.”
While some Racers were setting new school records at the Meyo Invitational, others were competing at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
On Friday, freshman hurdler Jabreuna Brimlett and sophomore hurdler Taylor McCammon competed in the pentathlon. Brimlett placed third in the event with a score of 3,129. She ran the best 60-meter hurdle time of 8.92 seconds and jumped the farthest in the long jump with 18 feet, 3.25 inches. McCammon placed fourth with 2,980 points.
Racers set more personal records at the Don DeNoon Invitational. Freshman Emily Heil pole vaulted a season-best 10 feet, 3 inches. Sophomore thrower Darcy Sullivan hit a personal record in the weight throwing 29’ 8.5”.
Saturday at the c, freshman sprinter Tamdra Lawrence showed more dominance and high performance as she took second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.60 seconds in the finals. She also took second in the 200 with a time of 25.04 seconds.
Brimlett placed first in the preliminary round of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.72 seconds. She placed third in the finals with a time of 8.81 seconds. Brimlett also competed in the triple jump for the first time and placed fifth with a jump of 38 feet, 8.5 inches.
At the Meyo Invitational, Bohn and Hester competed in the mile. Bohn finished with a time of 5 minutes and Hester finished with a time of 5 minutes, 4 seconds. Each finished a second off their personal best.
The Racers continue to prepare for the OVC Indoor Championships.
“We’re making good progress but we’re not there yet. We still have three weeks to get there,” Coach Jenny Swieton said.
The Racers will compete in Nashville once again at Vanderbilt at the Music City Challenge this weekend. before the OVC Indoor Championships.