Jill Odom
Sports Editor
The Troy track and field team left the USA Invitational victorious with a first-place overall win for the team on Saturday, April 11.
Troy traveled to Mobile on Thursday, April 10, and competed against 16 teams, including Sun Belt rivals South Alabama, UL Lafayette and Arkansas State.
Sophomores Aleeah Stigarll and Riley Schwietz got things started for the Trojans on Thursday.
They both competed in the women’s heptathlon, with Stigarll finishing fifth and Schwietz following close behind in seventh place.
During the seven-event contest, Schwietz set four new personal records.
The first full day of the USA Invitational took place Friday, April 10.
Senior Alexus Cobbs raised the bar as she claimed first place in triple jump, making an 11.75-meter leap.
Freshman Joevar James earned third place in the men’s javelin with a 59.54-meter throw on Friday as well.
On Saturday, the Trojans dominated the women’s competition, racking up 172, while runner-up South Alabama trailed by nearly 30 points.
Troy won 28 of its points with the help of freshman Sydney Wright’s performance in two individual events and one team relay.
Wright won the women’s 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, while senior Paige McMillan clinched second place in the 200-meter dash.
Fellow freshman Niata Alexander also contributed to the team’s win with a first-place finish of her own in the women’s 400-meter dash.
Alexander earned 10 points for Troy and broke her previous time with a 56.83-second dash.
Teammate sophomore Dallas Worthy snatched a second-place finish in the same event with a time of 57.43 seconds.
In the women’s 4×400-meter relay, Worthy, McMillan, Wright and Alexander were able to cross the finish line at 3:51.43, collecting a second-place finish.
Junior Cameia Alexander, Cobbs, McMillan and Wright also earned second place in the women’s 4×100 relay.
Two more Trojans swept an event: junior Julia Ostendorf and sophomore Katrina Bokenfohr took the women’s 3,000-meter run.
Ostendorf won 10 team points by finishing first at 10:23.09, and Bokenfohr was right behind her in second place.
During the women’s 1,500-meter run, Ostendorf set a new personal record and took home second while freshman Sara Zylstra finished in fifth.
In the women’s field events, freshman Corina Cox picked up fifth in the discus. Freshman Jaevyn Worthham set a new personal record in the same event with a 46.48-meter toss.
Two more Trojans took home runner-up finishes, including sophomore Sean Kent in the men’s 3,000-meter run and sophomore Cameron Rice in the men’s 200-meter dash.
Freshman Dylan Ogburn broke his previous record in the men’s 1,500-meter run, while in the field events, senior Demetris Elia place fifth in the men’s hammer throw.
Troy travels to Auburn for the War Eagle Invitational on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.
