April 5-6 Results:
Men’s Results
| Cincinnati |
Oliver Nikoloff Invite |
RECAP |
| UConn |
Specs Towns Invite |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Bill Carson Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Houston Alumni Invite |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
Friends Invite |
RECAP |
Women’s Results
| Cincinnati |
Oliver Nikoloff Invite |
RECAP |
| ECU |
Bill Carson Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Houston Alumni Invite |
RECAP |
| SMU |
Sun Angel Classic |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
Friends Invite |
RECAP |
Highlights
Six American Athletic Conference schools opened their April slates over the weekend. The league accounted for nine top-20 marks in the nation and 10 top marks on The American’s performance list this season.
The indoor national runner-up in the 400-meter dash, Kahmari Montgomery of Houston, made his 2019 individual outdoor debut Saturday at the Houston Alumni Invitational and clocked the nation's fastest 200-meter dash this season (20.41 seconds) along with the No. 5 time in the 400-meter (45.96 seconds). Montgomery's times were two of four top-10 national marks for Houston on Saturday as Lagarious McQuirter moved to No. 6 in the long jump (25-8.00/7.82 meters) and Naomi Taylor moved to No 7 in the 100-meter hurdles (13.17 seconds). The Cougars had numerous podium finishes and won 13 events at their home meet.
In its only home meet of the season, Cincinnati swept the team titles at the 2019 Oliver Nikoloff Invitaitonal at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field. The men's squad tallied 207 points, while the women totaled 206.5 points. The Bearcats tallied 15 event wins, 44 personal-best marks, 22 season-best marks and one school record over the course of the two-day meet. Haisha Bisiolu (100m, 400m) and Annette Echikunwoke (shot put, hammer throw) were multiple-event winners. Echikunwoke broke her own school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 64.88m. She moved to the top of the conference’s performance list in both the shot put and hammer throw, as both of her top tosses rank in the nation’s top 12 this year. Caisja Chandler won the 200m (23.56 seconds), posting the fastest time in the American Athletic Conference this season.
The UConn men sent their biggest field of athletes to compete so far this spring, closing out the southern portion of the schedule this weekend at the Spec Towns Invitational at the University of Georgia. Jordan Torney got his first stab at the decathlon this outdoor season and set a new personal best with a total of 7,725 points for the 14th-best performance in the NCAA this season and top score on the league’s performance list.
Eric van der Els made his spring debut in the 1,500 meters and turned in the fastest time by a Husky this season. Van der Els posted a time of 3:52.61, winning the event. Ian Bergere posted his best pole vault height of the outdoor season so far at 4.90 meters, finishing third in the field. Malik Snead picked-up a win in the triple jump with a jump of 15.26 meters (50'0.75"). Freshman Myles Calhoun ran the 100-and 200-meters in his spring debut on Saturday. In the 200, he finished second with a time of 22.21 seconds.
The ECU women won their fourth-straight Bill Carson Invitational title at Bate Foundation Track and Field Facility. The women amassed a total of 272.5 points, while the men finished second with 181 points. In total, the Pirates combined for seven track titles and seven field crowns. Grace Sullivan broke her own school record in the steeplechase, turning in a time of 10:12.62 that put her in the top three in the American Athletic Conference and top 20 in the nation.
SMU’s Chelsea Francis solely represented the Mustangs at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz. She competed in the 100-and-200-meter dashes. The sprinter clocked a first-place time of 11.54 seconds to win the 100m title and improve her American-leading time in the event.
Wichita State throwers Alex Adams and Kelsey Slawson set meet records winning their respective events at the Friends Spring Open, Saturday at Adair-Austin Stadium. The Wichita State track and field program entered nearly 30 athletes in the meet, coming away with five individual event titles and two meet records. Adams started things off for the Shockers winning the women's hammer throw with a meet-record toss of 50.26m/164-11. Slawson then won the shot put with meet-record toss of 15.27m/50-1.25.