By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin track and field programs capped off the season with a strong showing at the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship held at Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill.
In total, the Skyhawks had five medalists in the three-day championship with the group of Luke McNair (1500m), Sam Shuman (3k steeple), Jack Blyth (3k steeple), Lilia Alvarez (3k steeple) and Khalid White (400m) all reaching the podium in their respective events. Meanwhile, six new school records were written in the high jump, long jump, men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, decathlon and women’s 100m hurdles.
Additionally, as end of championship awards were handed out, White added to his personal collection after becoming the first athlete in UT Martin history to be named OVC Outdoor Track and Field Male Freshman of the Year. White found a podium in the men’s 400m run with a record-setting time while also helping a 4x100m relay team set a new school record and a 4x400m relay team add points to the Skyhawk team total.
When the final points per tallied, the Skyhawk men finish fourth in the championship field with 59 points while the women team came in ninth with 33.5 points.
Medalists
- Graduate Luke McNair added another medal to his decorated career by finishing runner-up in the men’s 1500m run. He posted a time of 3:52.94 and racked up eight points for the squad.
- Sophomore Sam Shuman claimed the first podium finish for the Skyhawks with a runner-up placement in the men’s 3k steeple while posting a time of 9:26.44. With his finish, he claimed eight points for the Skyhawks.
- Senior Jack Blyth also had a strong performance in the men’s 3k steeple, finishing third with a time of 9:29.67. With his placement, he secured six points for the team.
- After setting a pair of school records in the event this season, junior Lilia Alvarez was impressive in the women’s 3k steeple with a time of 11:23.82 to finish third. Her performance secured six points for the Skyhawk women.
- Freshman Khalid White had an impressive championship, earning a third-place finish in the men’s 400m run while setting a program record with a time of 47.56 seconds. He claimed six points for the Skyhawks.
School Records
- Junior Darius Holland scored in two events as an individual with four points in the long jump and two points in the high jump. Holland capped off an impressive outdoor season by also setting two new school record with a long jump distance of 7.57m while also posting a new men’s high jump with a mark of 1.98m.
- The Skyhawk men’s 4x100m relay team of Ja’Kobe Ward, Khalid White, Brady Fry and Darius Holland broke the school record with a time of 41.58 seconds – finishing fifth in the championship with four points.
- The women’s 4x100m relay team also set a new school record as the group of Addison Taylor, Alaina Gordon, JayleAna Wyatt and Janay Chapman posted a time of 46.45 second to finish fifth and claim four points. The new school mark knocked off the previous record which was set in 1999.
- Senior Jamire Thompson set a new school record in the men’s decathlon with 4811 total points. His mark bested the previous record by 118 points and scored a point for the Skyhawks with an eighth-place finish.
- Junior Addison Taylor broke a long standing 21-year-old school record held by UT Martin Hall of Famer Tymikia Gunn set back in 2002 with a time of 14.40 seconds in the 100m hurdles prelims. She later earned a point for the Skyhawks in the finals with her performance in the 100mh.
Other Point Scorers
- Sophomore JayleAna Wyatt just missed out on a podium finish in the women’s 100m dash, coming in fourth with a time of 12.10 seconds to secure four points for the women’s team.
- Junior Janay Chapman earned three points for the Skyhawks by finishing sixth in the women’s 400m with a mark of 56.71 seconds.
- Sophomore Lydia Tankersley scored a total of eight points of the Skyhawks in the championship with performances in both the women’s 1500m and 800m runs. Tankersley finished just off the podium with a fourth-place time of 4:37.8 in the 1500m while boasting a time of 2:15.78 to secure three points for the squad in the 800m.
- Sophomore Will Cahill narrowly missed out on a podium performance as he came in fourth-place in the men’s 5k while posting a time of 14:42.98 to claim five points.
- Freshman Ja’Derrika Welch-Field eanred 3.5 points for the Skyhawks after tying for fifth place with a distance of 1.63m in the women’s high jump.
- Junior Cole Davis added four points for the Skyhawks after posting a fifth-place finish in the men’s 1500m with a time of 3:55.08.
- Sophomore Hudson Hall was close behind Davis, adding the third point scorer for the Skyhawks in the men’s 1500m with a sixth-place performance and 3:56.20 time.
- The men’s 4x400m relay team came in sixth place and notched three points towards the team total as the group of Khalid White, John Collin Askew, Hudson Hall and Hawken Foote posted a time of 3:21.01.
- Junior MJ Jackson also claimed two points with a seventh-place finish for the Skyhawks in the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.33m.
- The women’s 4x400m relay team of Janay Chapman, Sanaa Smith, JayleAna Wyatt and Anaya Brown finished seventh with a time of 3:56.44 to add two points to the team’s overall total.
- Freshman Ja’Derrika Welch-Fields finished eighth in the women’s 400m hurdles to secure one point with a time of 1:14.29.
- Freshman Ja’Kobe Ward made the event finals of both the men’s 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. He earned a point for the team with a time of 15.06 seconds in the 110mh finals while also getting in the scoring group in the 400mh after qualifying at 54.49 seconds.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information