Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Polytan Invitational (Indiana)
Racers Track & Field Have Strong Showing at Polytan Invitational
4/23/2011 4:54:04 PM | Women's Track and Field
Results
“We had two great days of competition,” said head coach Jenny Severns. “I am so proud of everyone and I am excited at the level that the team is competing at right now. We had a lot of personal records over the past two days and we are seeing consistent performances from several members of the team.”
In the first day of the meet (April 22) freshman Katie Forshey and junior Rebecca Hbetamu both finished in the top-10 in their respective events and MSU saw three personal-best finishes. Forshey had a personal-best and a seventh-place finish in the 400-hurdles for the Racers, with a time of 1:05.55. Hbetamu then took sixth-place in the 5000, with a time of 17:13.71, improving on her season-best time of 18:47.97.
Two other runners in the 5000 had personal-best performances. Senior Kristin Reffett finished the event with a time of 18:40.39, a personal-best and over a minute faster than her previous-best finish in 2011 of 19:59.62. Sophomore Bridget Stichnot also improved her time in the race by almost a minute, with a personal-record of 19:00.32, with her previous season-best being 19:52.66.
The second day of the meet was filled with even more personal records and top-10 finishes. Sophomore Alexis Love started the day with a 10th-place finish in the 100 in a time of 12.53.
Senior Josha Rogers and Forshey then teamed up for two top-10 finishes in the high jump. Forshey claimed seventh, with a height of 1.57m (5'1.75”) and Rogers earned second-place. Rogers cleared a height of 1.67m (5'5.75”), the same as the competitor from Indiana who finished first, but took second due to the number of misses that each competitor recorded.
Junior Christina Johnson had a key performance for the Racers in the 400, with a personal-best time of 56.65. Sophomore Ayerial Rouse then added a personal best in the 200, with a time of 26.91. Freshman Courtney Kovach also improved on her career-best time in the 800, with a finish of 2:39.41.
Freshman Meghan Helmer also hit an improved mark in the hammer throw, with a toss of 35.70m (117'1”).
The final top-10 finish and personal record for the day came from junior Kayla Crusham in the 3,000-steeplechase. Crusham crossed the finish line with a time of 11:24.40 taking eighth, 20 second faster than her previous season-best of 11:47.43.
The Racers will next compete at the APSU Tri-Meet, April 30 in Clarksville, Tenn. Tennessee Tech will also be participating in the event, which is the last chance for a tune-up before the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships are hosted by the Racers at Marshall Gage Track, May 6-7.
