Wesley Kirchharr
Staff Writer
The Troy track and field team capped off a record-setting season at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships on Monday and Tuesday, placing the highest in program history with 81 points.
The Trojans picked up three gold medals on the way to the third-place finish at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Troy’s duo of Gemma Finch and Tiarra Bailey took home gold and silver in the women’s 800-meter, running the best races of their careers. Finch’s 2:10.84 finish lands her at the fastest time in school history, breaking her own personal best. Bailey’s 2:11.80, just one second behind Finch, is now the second fastest time in Troy history and a new personal best for Bailey.
Another Trojan duo of Precious Ogba and Madison Kennedy followed the strong performance in the 800-meter, finding themselves in the top three in the 400-meter dash.
Ogba’s 55.57-second finish placed her just behind Texas State’s Tramesha Hardy, landing the sophomore on the runner’s up podium. Kennedy fell just 0.11 seconds behind Ogba, good enough for the bronze medal.
The Troy distance medley squad and the 4×400-meter relay team took two gold medals, out pacing a school record in the process. Finch, Kennedy, Bailey and Tanner Guest took gold with a time of 11:47.14 in the distance medley, landing themselves at the top of the Troy record books.
Ogba, Bailey, Finch and Kennedy missed the mark of a school record, falling just shy with a time of 3:44.63. The finish was still good enough for gold, wrapping up Troy’s stellar performance at the conference championships.
On March 1, Troy will kick off its outdoor season at the Strawberry Relays in Hammond, LA, hosted by Southeastern, featuring various regional talents. Then, the Trojans will take a step back into the indoor season, taking part in the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8.
