By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin track and field teams were back in action on Friday with a trip down I-40 to the Rhodes 7-Way Meet.
The Skyhawks returned to action as a full team after sending a small contingent to their last meet at the Flames Invitational the previous weekend. With a full stock of athletes back in action, UT Martin posted three event while boasting several new personal-records on the day.
Darius Holland continues to rewrite the UT Martin record book – a place where his name is already etched six times – by breaking his own record in the men’s triple jump. After setting a new program mark at the Margaret Simmons Invite earlier this season of 13.89m, Holland shattered that mark with a distance of 14.34m this afternoon. His distance was good enough for the event title, while also winning the men’s long jump title as well.
Addison Taylor posted an event title for the Skyhawks in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 15.35 seconds to narrowly miss out on a new personal-best.
Another sprinter who posted a strong afternoon was newcomer Janay Chapman. Competing in both the 400m and 200m dashes, Chapman set a new PR in the 400m dash with a time of 59.34 seconds while finishing third in the 200m at 25.37. Freshman Sanaa Smith also had a nice showing in her hometown by setting a new PR in the 400 while posting a 26.96 second time in the 200.
The Skyhawk women saw freshman Lydia Tankersley finish third in the 800m by setting a new PR in the event with a mark of 2:22.89.
In the mid-distance events, Rita Eimer led the Skyhawk women in the 1500m race with a new PR of 4:58.27. UT Martin also found success on the men’s side with Brent Borden (4:07.06) posting a strong time while Andre Brown set a new PR of 4:08.33.
Stretching it out a little, the Skyhawk men were well represented in the 5k run with three of the top-10 finishers. Freshman Sam Shuman set a new PR with an eighth-place finish after recording a time of 15:27.88. Newcomer Colten Glosser joined him in the top-10 with a PR of his own, finishing 10th at 15:33.11.
UT Martin will return to action when traveling to the Red Wolves Open in Jonesboro, Ark. on Friday, Apr. 22 through Saturday, Apr. 23.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information