April 13, 2013

Eight personal-best marks rewritten at WKU Hilltopper Relays

Eight personal best performances from eight different athletes highlighted Tennessee Tech's appearance Saturday at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Relays.

View complete results from Hilltopper Relays

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Eight personal best performances from eight different athletes highlighted Tennessee Tech's appearance Saturday at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Relays.

All eight career efforts came in running events for coach Tony Cox's team, including three in the 5,000-meter run. Two more fell in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, two in the 200-meter dash and one at 1,500 meters.

Kelli Keck, a junior from Crossville, got things started by posting a time of 26.56 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Chelsea Mills, a freshman from Chattanooga, was a fraction of a second behind with a PR run of 26.69 seconds. Both were within a second of the school record in that event.

Dalis Connel, a junior from Chattanooga, led three Tech runners across the line in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:02.57, finishing 17^th in the race.

Freshman Landry Loving, a newcomer from Johnson City, Tenn., had Tech's best times at both 800-meters and the 1,500-meter run. Her time over 800 meters was 2:29.42, while her 1,500-meter time was a career-best 5:05.91, shattering her previous best by 17 seconds.

In the longest race of the day, Yeshi Dohrmann claimed a Top 10 finish with personal-best time of 19:31.78 in the 5,000-meter run. Likewise, Amelia McCoy had a PR of 19:59.47 to finish 11^th, and Meghan O'Donoghue ran a PR of 20:23.48 for a 12^th place showing.

The final personal-best came in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, where Rebecca Cline, a junior from Spring Hill, Tenn., placed third with a time of 11:55.31. Junior Peri Winborne was fourth in the event in 12:00.61.

Tech has some strong efforts in the field events, but didn't eclipse any personal best levels.

Keck and Mills switched roles in the long jump and tri[le jump. Mills led the way in the long jump at 17 feet, one-half inch, while Keck had the long leap in the triple jump at 34 feet, 10.25 inches.

Madison Borden had Tech's best throw in the shot put, finishing 13^th with a toss of 38 feet, 10.25 inches. Lacy Yslas had Tech's best marks in both the discus (131 feet, 9 inches) and javelin (99 feet, one inch).

The teams will be busy in the coming days, running at the Vanderbilt Invitational on Friday and Saturday followed by a venture to Clarksville on Tuesday for the Austin Peay Invitational.

Those two meets close out the regular season for Tech before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, May 3-4 at Eastern Illinois.