By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin track and field program kicked off the 2022 indoor season with a strong debut at the Redhawks Invite held at the SEMO Student Rec Center in Cape Girardeau on Saturday afternoon.
After a long offseason of strength and conditioning development, UT Martin returned to competition today at the Redhawks Invite. The Skyhawks had a strong afternoon of performances with five event victories while the men’s team finishing second overall and the women’s squad coming in third.
Several Skyhawks posted impressive debuts, including JayleAna Wyatt who improved upon her preliminary time in the 55m dash and posted a 7.27 second time in the finals to set a new personal-record and win the event. Wyatt barely edged out her own teammate for the victory in their respective Skyhawk debuts as newcomer Janay Chapman finished runner-up with a time of 7.28 seconds.
UT Martin swept the 55m dash for the day after freshman dual-sport athlete JaMichael McGoy posted not only the top time during the preliminary round but also in the finals, ultimately winning the title with a time of 6.64 seconds. Also enjoying a nice showing in the race was John Collin Askew who posted a new event PR with a time of 6.75 seconds in the finals.
Fresh off winning her first event title of the day in the 55m dash, Wyatt turned around and won another one – this time in the women’s 200m dash with a time of 26.82 to outmatch the field which included three from Southeast Missouri and two other Skyhawks.
Along with his work in the 55m dash, Askew added another PR to his exciting day in the men’s 200m dash. He finished in scoring position in the finals while posting a qualifying time of 22.89 seconds for a new personal-best.
The Skyhawks added their fourth event victory of the day in the men’s 400m dash as another new face to the roster produced an impressive result. Freshman Maluke Cluver bested the field and claimed seven points for his team with a time of 53.31 seconds for the title.
The team’s success continued in the men’s 55m hurdles as junior Brady Fry rewrote his own school record and claimed the team’s fifth and final title of the season opener. Fry posted a time of 7.82 seconds in the prelims to set a new program record while his time of 7.89 seconds in the finals ranked tops in the field.
On the women’s side of the 55m hurdles, junior Addison Taylor set a new PR with her time of 9.18 seconds in the prelims while finishing fourth overall in the finals (9.37 seconds).
Rounding out the spotlight contributors for the Skyhawks was the performance of Henry Griffin in the men’s pole vault. Griffin finished second in the event with a vault of 2.60m for a new PR and to set a new school record.
UT Martin will return to competition next Friday, Jan. 21 at the Bellarmine Open in Louisville, Ky.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information