( Photo / Troy Athletics )
Kennedy Roy
Sports Editor
Troy Track and Field competed in the annual KMS Invitational on Sunday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Trojans had a competitive weekend, finishing with 16 podium finishes in 13 different events.
Director Marc Davis said he likes the direction the program is heading and feels like the players are starting to learn from their performances and improve.
“We are starting to trend in the right direction. We had some very good top end performances this weekend,” Davis said. “I keep trying to make sure our athletes understand that a successful season is dependent on learning from our performances from week to week.
“Our new kids are buying in and the veterans are still improving in all event areas. We have to stay focused and make steady progress.”
This season, the Troy throwers have really taken their game to the next level with multiple podium finishes. The most notable performance being from Austin Snyder who broke his own school record over the weekend in the shot-put, throwing it 16.89m, which earned a second-place finish.
In the weight throw, two Trojans impressed with Naquita Williams recording a toss of 16.16m to win the weight throw, while Biniosa Ezukuse earned silver with a toss of 15.98m.
Two Trojans also finished on the podium for shot-put after Samara Nelson (13.48m) placed first and Ezukuse (12.81m) secured her second podium finish of the day after coming in third.
On the track, several Trojans finished at the top with multiple podium finishes. Alexandria Rankin (1:39.48) and Kasia Cooper (57.18) each earned third-place finishes in the 400m and 600m, respectively. Cadi Rowe led the distance runners with a time of 10:18.08 in the 3000m to earn silver. Meanwhile, Chance Armstrong placed second in the 800m with a time of 5:17.33, a new college best.
Tanner Guest found the podium twice on Sunday. The first time came in the mile where he earned silver (5:06.52) and again in the 800m where he earned bronze (2:17.35).
Edita Sklenska earned gold in the 800m (2:10.04) while Jasmine Riley set a new personal record in the semifinals of the 60m dash with a time of 7.55 before eventually earning bronze in the final.
Back on the field, Titus Sizemore posted a height of 2.10m to win the high jump.
The women’s 4×400 relay closed out the day with a time of 3:50.59 to place first.
Troy returns to action Sunday, Jan. 31, at the Scarlet and Grey Invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Davis said he has his sights on a good performance at the conference tournament and expects this weekend to be a rehearsal for that tournament.
“Next week will be a huge test at Arkansas State,” Davis said. “The meet will consist of mostly conference teams so we have to treat it like a conference rehearsal. We can’t take it lightly.”
