The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
LSU Relays
Track Captures Pair Of Wins During First Day Of LSU Relays
March 23 | Track & Field
BATON ROUGE – The University of Akron track and field program opened its outdoor season with a pair of wins and a host of strong performances during the first day of the LSU Relays at Bernie Moore Track Stadium Friday.
Headlining the list of standouts was sophomore Brad Hough, who came just fractions of a second from setting the school record in the 5,000 meters. Hough, who shattered Akron's record in the 3,000 meter during the indoor season, smoked the competition with a winning time of 14:28.73. The mark was more than 11 full seconds faster than TAMU's Kiya Dandena, who came in second with a mark of 14:39.81, and fell just short of breaking Scott Meyers' milestone of 14:28.34.
Sharing the spotlight in the event was freshman Kyle Cochrun, who placed third with a time of 14:54.79.
UA's second win on the night came from its 4x800 relay team, which captured gold at the LSU relays for the third consecutive season. Akron's foursome of Willie Brown, Gabriel Genovesi, Jake Hiltner and Zachary Goulet cruised to the win, crossing the line in 7:38.12 to beat second-placed Missouri S&T (7:46.44) by more than eight full seconds.
The victory continued a dominating run at the LSU Relays by the Zips who set school, meet and facility records in the event the previous two years.
The Zips benefitted from a promising showing in the event on the women's side as well as their young group, comprised sophomore Kayla Whitlow, freshman Maria Moore, sophomore Alex Bowers and freshman Jillian Roth, came in second with a time of 9:24.63.
Also turning in strong marks were Eric Hubbard, who placed second in the hammer with a personal-record toss of 196-03, Martel Durant, who placed second in the high jump with a clearance of 6-07.50, and Daryl Baptiste, who took fifth in the long jump with a leap of 23-04.00.
On the strength of a personal-record run of 53.34, J'Lani Pryce, who finished second in the preliminary heat of the 400-meter hurdles, was one of four UA individuals to qualify Saturday's final round.
Also making the cut was Tyshaun Peoples, who was making his season debut after missing the indoor campaign due to an injury. Peoples, who advanced to the NCAA regionals a year ago, ran 14.90 in the 110-meter hurdles to advance. Dominique Watson will join him in the finals Saturday after running 10.67 in the 100-meter dash while the Zips' 4x100 relay team of Peoples, Nick Owens, Manley Waller and Watson also qualified after clocking a time of 41.48.
On the women's side, Brittany Cheese ran an impressive time of 14.34 in the 100-meter hurdles while Rachel Christian finished the 100-meter dash in 12.17.
The running events will kick off the second and final day of the LSU Relays Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. ET. The field events will begin at Noon with the majority of the finals beginning 2 p.m. and running throughout the afternoon. Live results will once again be provided by LSU Athletics.
RESULTS – LSU RELAYS
March 23, 2012 | Louisiana State University | Bernie Moore Track Stadium | Baton Rouge, La.
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
FINALS
5,000m: 1. Brad Hough, 14:28.73, 3. Kyle Cochrun, 14:54.79; High Jump: 2. Martel Durant, 6-07.50, 4. John Dahlstrand, 6-05.50; Long Jump: 5. Daryl Baptiste, 23-04.00, 9. Tyshaun Peoples, 22-06.50, 14. Darien Spann, 22-04.25; Hammer: 2. Eric Hubbard, 196-03, 5. Nick Banke, 186-00, 13. Bo Zeigler, 167-03, 14. Jordan Paul, 166-06; 4x800 Relay: 1. Akron A (Willie Brown, Gabriel Genovesi, Jake Hiltner, Zachary Goulet), 7:38.12.
PRELIMS
100m: 8. Dominique Watson, 10.67 (q), 27. Manley Waller, 11.06, 42. Daryl Baptiste, 11.21, 44. Kyle Walker, 11.23, 48. Nick Owens, 11.33, 57. Darien Spann, 11.54; 110 hurdles: 6. Tyshaun Peoples, 14.90 (q), 12. Kyle Walker, 15.41; 400m Hurdles: 2. J'Lani Pryce, 53.34 (q), 15. Sean Weems, 56.63; 4x100 relay: 7. Akron A (Tyshaun Peoples, Nick Owens, Manley Waller, Dominque Watson), 41.48 (q).
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
FINALS
1,500m: 6. Kayla Whitlow, 4:36.21; High Jump: 4. Gabriela Szkolnicka, 5-05.00, 10. Skyler Willis, 5-03.00; Long Jump: 6. Katherine Lee, 18-04.25, 8. Brittany Cheese, 18-00.50, 20. Skyler Willis, 16-03.25; Shot Put: 4. Alexis Cooks, 44-10.75, 5. Aliyah Cotton, 43-04.50, 11. Brittany Funk, 41-00.25; Hammer: 4. Brittany Funk, 187-03, 9. Carley Ballow, 161-07, 12. Emily Suciu, 150-04; Javelin: 3. Jessica Delic, 144-02; 4x800 Relay: 2. Akron A (Kayla Whitlow, Maria Moore, Alex Bowers, Jillian Roth), 9:24.63.
PRELIMS
100m: Rachel Christian, 12.17 (q), 18. Meghan Cherry, 12.51; 100m hurdles: 5. Brittany Cheese, 14.34 (q), 10. Skyler Willis, 15.11.
