Murray State University Athletics
Racers Show Out on Day One of Memphis Invitational
4/26/2019 11:07:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
The Murray State track and field team was in Memphis Friday afternoon competing at the Memphis Invitational.
"Today was a good day all around," said head coach Adam Kiesler. "This time of year, we want to see certain things out of each race, jump, and throw and what we saw today showed us good things which is a great sign. Today will give us momentum heading into tomorrow where we hope to see a lot of event winner to take that confidence into OVCs."
In the long jump, Ashlyn Oren shattered her personal best with a distance of 5.84m, eclipsing the 19-foot mark for the first time in her career, en route to a seventh-place finish. Eleri Gesler also broke a personal record as she jumped 4.78m.
The Racers had three top-ten results in the javelin, led by Alexus Groom, who finished third with a personal best throw of 37.60m. Joy Sparks was not far behind in fifth place with a mark of 35.24m and Ashton Crowe was tenth with a throw of 30.62m.
In the only other field event of the day, Rachel Gootee led the Racers in the hammer throw with a 13th-place finish on a throw of 45.22m
On the track, Tamdra Lawrence once again shined bright for the Racers as she won the 200m with a time of 24.14. Daijah White (25.075) and Norma Abdur-Rafia (25.080) also finished in the top ten as they placed eighth and ninth, respectively. JaKayla McSwain (25.27), D'Myia Thornton (25.73), and Dontavia Howard (25.80) also set personal records in the event.
In the 5000m, Amanda Parker finished seventh with a time of 19:39.43.
The Racers will return to action tomorrow for day two of the Memphis Invitational in their final day of competition before the OVC Championships May 9-11.
Players Mentioned
