Blue Raiders capture eight first-place wins

Saturday, March 25

Knoxville, Tenn.

Middle Tennessee

Rust Buster

3/25/2017 10:03:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country

MT sets school record at UT's Rust Buster

By: @MTAthletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In the second weekend of the outdoor season, Middle Tennessee broke a school record en route to claiming eight first-place finishes at the University of Tennessee's Rust Buster.

The highlight of the day came in one of the final events as the Blue Raiders set a school record in the women's 4x400 meter relay. The quartet of Janet Amponsah, Agnes Abu, Odia Loveth and Abike Egbeniyi clocked a 3:36.75, breaking a 10-year-old school record.

"We had a good day and won a number of events. We did well and I'm very satisfied. This gave us a good start as we had almost everyone on the team at this meet," Head Coach Dean Hayes said. "If we can continue to do that the rest of the spring, we will be in good shape."

On the men's side, MT's distance athletes grabbed three first-place finishes, with another gold coming in the field.

Sampson Laari led the charge by placing first in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:48.69. Jacob Choge and Geoffry Cheruiyot followed with first-place wins in the 3000-meter run and 3000-meter steeplechase, respectively. Choge finished his race with a time of 8:14.01, while Cheruiyot clocked a 9:15.25 in the steeplechase.

In the field, Jacob Patten made his debut in the outdoor season with a first-place finish in the high jump. The sophomore finished the day with a leap of 6-11.75 (2.13 meters).

Four more Blue Raiders captured first-place wins on the women's side.

Abike Egbeniyi continued to shine in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:07.18 to take gold, while Rachel Kigen claimed first in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:07.91.

Elizabeth Dadzie followed her stellar performance at the Yellow Jacket Invitational a week ago with another first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, before the women's 4x400 meter relay team closed the day with their record-breaking performance.

The Blue Raiders return to action next weekend at the Joey Haines Invitational hosted by Southeast Missouri.

MEN'S RESULTS
100 Meter Dash:
2. Ifiok Umoh, 10.68
6. Tahir Walsh, 10.72
20. Chaz Simmons, 11.24

200 Meter Dash:
3. Tahir Walsh, 21.32
9. Adeniji Adedamola, 21.67
35. Kendrick Williams, 23.55

400 Meter Dash:
6. Charles Okeze, 48.36

800 Meter Run:
6. Trevon Sanders, 1:54.92
12. Nathan Mack, 1:56.52
28. Donald Clay, 2:04.07

1500 Meter Run:
1. Sampson Laari, 3:48.69
2. Hillary Rono, 3:50.73

3000 Meter Run:
1. Jacob Choge, 8:14.01
5. Amos Cheruiyot, 8:45.71

3000 Meter Steeplechase
1. Geoffry Cheruiyot, 9:15.25

4x400 Meter Relay:
2. Adeniji Adedamola, Trevon Sanders, Nathan Mack, Ifiok Umoh; 3:14.39

High Jump:
1. Jacob Patten, 6-11.75 (2.13m)

Triple Jump:
3. Phillip Smith, 49-04.50 (15.05m)
6. Jacob Patten, 47-10.50 (14.59m)

WOMEN'S RESULTS
200 Meter Dash:
2. Janet Amponsah, 23.20
4. Loveth Odia, 23.98
12. Taylor Day, 25.05
40. Brina Serafino, 27.40

800 Meter Dash:
1. Abike Egbeniyi, 2:07.18

1500 Meter Run:
2. Agnes Abu, 4:30.66
22. Gladys Kipchumba, 5:15.00

3000 Meter Run:
1. Rachel Kigen, 10:07.91
3. Sharon Kibiwott, 10:28.89
8. Rhema Cheruiyot, 10:51.24

100 Meter Hurdles:
1. Elizabeth Dadzie, 13.81
6. Jessica Howell, 14.30

4x400 Meter Relay:
1. Janet Amponsah, Agnes Abu, Loveth Odia, Abike Egbeniyi; 3:36.75

Long Jump:
3. Elizabeth Dadzie, 20-01.50 (6.13m)
13. Taylor Day, 18-00.25 (5.49m)

Shot Put:
33. Qetuwrah Abdullah Muhammad, 29-00.00 (8.84m)

Javelin:
10. Qetuwrah Abdullah Muhammad, 76-07 (23.35m)