Track and Field head to the Texas Tech Indoor Classic after a solid outing from both the women and men’s teams at Texas A&M on Jan. 12-13, led by redshirt seniors Allie and Michaela Hackett.
“This weekend we will be competing against more Olympic and sponsored athletes, and I feel that our training has prepared us to go out there and work hard, get better and have fun competing against such prestigious athletes,” said sophomore decathlete Riley Ellis.
At A&M, the Hackett twins finished first and second in the 3,000-meter with times of 9:40.45 and 9:45.34. Allie Hackett picked up her 11th Southland Athlete of the week award and also earned the first 2018 ACU Athlete of the Week award.
Sophomore Carnley Graham also earned her first gold medal of the season as she finished first in the 5k with a time of 17:41.69, along with senior Sierra Bennett and freshman Hannah Marut, who finished sixth and seventh.
Elsewhere on the women’s side, freshman Megan Kirby finished fourth in the long jump, while juniors Taylor Posey and Kayla Melgar finished sixth and seventh in the shot put. Posey also picked up fourth in the weight throw, where she set a new personal best of 16.47 meters. Redshirt junior Lonnie Smith finished just ahead of her, placing third with a distance of 16.52.
The men’s side also had strong outings, as freshman Morgan Knight stole the show with two top-5 finishes. He finished third in the shot put and fourth in the weight throw, with distances of 15.97 meters and 17.19 meters.
Three other men picked up new personal bests, with sophomore Drew Cummings running a 4.33.99 mile, redshirt junior John Baker running a 16:07.12 5k and sophomore Avery Williams running the 400-meter dash in 48.75 seconds. Ellis, also took 14th in long jump and ninth in high jump in the decathlon.
The last Wildcat to get a personal best was on the women’s side, as freshman Jamie Kennedy finished 18th with a time of 25.67
The Wildcats will start at Texas Tech on Friday, and continue on Saturday. Texas Tech looks to continue a stellar year, headlined by school-record breaking freshman Divine Odudru, who currently has the second-best time in the world this season in the 200-meter dash.
