The men’s and women’s track and field teams both competed in the seventh annual Jace Lacoste Invitational in Starkville, Miss., this weekend, with the men’s team bringing back a third-place finish and the Lady Tigers finishing seventh.
Some of the best teams in the Mid-South showed up to compete, including the No. 5-ranked men’s team of host Mississippi State, but Memphis was more than able to hold its own.
Behind three first-place finishes, the men’s team finished third Saturday behind Mississippi State and Southwest Missouri State.
Memphis sophomores Greg Doughty and Adam Martin excelled in the throwing events, with Doughty winning the javelin competition with a throw of 59.52 meters and Martin taking the hammer throw with a toss of 49.96 meters. Martin also finished third in the shot put while Doughty finished fifth in the discus throw.
The men’s other first-place finish came in the 4x400-meter relay as the Tigers knocked off the Bulldogs’ highly-touted squad, turning in a time of 39.58.
In the sprints, the Tigers claimed three of the top 15 spots in the 100-meter dash, with freshman Gary Nemeth finishing second in a time of 10.32. Senior Frank Diadhiou, who finished first in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Tulane Invitational last week, finished seventh Saturday in a time of 10.68 while freshman Ivan Wiliams placed 13th in a time of 10.90.
Nemeth also finished second in the 200-meter dash while Williams and Diadhiou finished fifth and ninth, respectively.
In distance, junior Andre Lucas placed third in the 800-meter dash in a time of 1:51 and freshman Steve Anthony finished eighth with a time of 1:56. In the 5,000-meter run, freshman Derek Nakluski ran 15:55 to finish fourth.
Meanwhile, freshman Preston Taylor finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 15.30 and finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. Kris Harmon had the best individual finish in hurdles, finishing second in 400-meter in 52.45.
Although the Lady Tigers had no first-place finishers Saturday, two Memphis athletes finished second in individual competition.
Sophomore Keenan Gibson finished second in the 100-meter dash behind Southern Miss’ Prudence Reid, running an 11.90. Reid finished just a step ahead in 11.77 seconds.
Fellow sophomore Lisa-Marie Hyman also paced the Lady Tigers with a second-place finish in the triple jump, leaping 40 feet, 2 inches. Hyman also crept in to get the eighth spot in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 15.57.
“They had a great weekend,” said women’s head coach Brenda Cash. “It looks like we are starting to turn the corner and are making improvements. I am looking for greater things to keep happening.”
Meanwhile, Chanel Dunn and Ashley Reed finished ninth and 12th, respectively, in the 200-meter dash while senior Wendy Ragle placed ninth in the 1,500 meters in 4:50. Fellow senior Lilly Lebron finished 11th in the 5,000 meters.
In field events, thrower Monique Nelson finished fourth in the shot put and seventh in the discus.
The men’s team travels to Philadelphia to compete in the historic Penn Relays next weekend while the Lady Tigers will travel to Waco, Texas, for the Michael Johnson/Southwestern Bell Classic.
