Track and Field Showed Up Big on Day One of the Bast Cregger Invite

Roanoke, Va. – The King University team went to the Bast-Cregger Invitational, where they had many athletes compete in events for the first time this season, and had three athletes finish in the top three.
 
Women's Track and Field Team:
 
The Women's Track and Field team, led by freshman Savannah Darnell, competed in her first-ever collegiate Pentathlon, in which she placed second overall, scoring a total of 2979 points. She started the afternoon on the track with the 60-meter hurdles, where she ran a time of 10.09 seconds, good for 695 points. Next, moving to the field in the High Jump, she leaped a second overall jump of 1.57 meters (5-01.75 ft) and 701 points. Then moving to the Shot Put, which she heaved in a throw of 9.03 meters (29-07.50 ft), which was good for 466 points. Her final field event was the Long Jump, jumping 5.25 meters (17-02.75 ft), which is 628 points. The final event of the day was the 800-meter, where she ran a 2:47.62, which gave her the final 489 points.
 
On the track, the team had Ermay Vazquez Adame in the 500-meter, earning third place. She won her heat by 16 seconds, making it a race against the clock where she excelled. She had an opening 300-meter time of 49.51 seconds, then a closing 200-meter time of 33.57 to earn her second place overall.
 
Samaya Armstead was in the Open 60-meter dash, where she opened the day in the prelims, running an 8.16 seconds to earn her spot in the semi-finals. She then was one place out of making the finals after the semis, running a personal best of 8.14 seconds.
 
Men's Track and Field Team:
 
The Men's Track and Field team watched two multi-event athletes start their two-day-long events with the first four events of the day. Both Nolen Carter and Emanuel Rodriguez Ronda competed today. Rodriguez led the duo early today, having the third fastest time in the 60-meter dash of 7.52 seconds, and Carter ran 7.62 seconds. The duo would then move to the Long Jump, where Rodriguez leaped the furthest with a jump of 5.36 meters (17-07.00 ft), and Carter jumped 5.11 meters (16-09.25 ft). Carter then blew the whole ground apart with his throw in the Shot Put of 12.33 meters (40-05.5), the furthest by over 2 meters, and Rodriguez threw a 9.94 meters (32-07.50), which was good for third. They ended the first day with the High Jump, where Carter earned third place with a 1.71 meters (5-07.25 ft).
 
On the track, the men had seven athletes in the 60-meter dash, pushing four to the semi-finals: Lynden Johnson, who ran 6.92 and earned second place, Dominick Stevens, who ran 6.98 and earned fourth place, Spencer Goins, who ran 7.19 and earned 14^th, and Braylon Hammond, who ran 7.25 seconds and earned 19^th. In the semis, Hammond ran another personal best of 7.23 and earned 23^rd. Goins ran another personal best of 7.13 seconds, which was good for a Conference Carolinas qualifying mark. Stevens placed third and moved to the finals tomorrow with a time of 6.88 seconds. Johnson led the field with a season best and a National Qualifying mark of 6.82 seconds to send himself to the finals tomorrow as well.
 
In the 500-meter dash, the Tornado had Spencer Utsey, who won his heat by 5 seconds, leading from the gun. He went through his first 300 meters in 42.07 seconds and held that pace to run a 28.44-second closing 200-meter to run a final time of 1:10.51.
 
 Live Results
 
The Tornado will be competing tomorrow, Saturday, the 31^st of January, for day two of the Bast-Cregger Invitational.