Scott McLendon
Staff Writer
Both Troy’s men’s and women’s track teams showed much promise in their 2016 indoor season opener in the Blazer Invitational on Friday, Jan. 15.
Top three finishes and personal records were achieved by the Trojans at the meet hosted by UAB at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Freshman Michael Alvernaz won the men’s weight throw with a toss of 16.98 meters. Fellow freshman Caleb Brown opened his collegiate career with a third place finish and a 15.98 meter toss.
Personal bests were set in the 60-meter dash by senior captain Benjamin Martin and freshman Hakim Montgomery with 6.81 and 6.83 seconds, respectively.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the effort I saw from our team tonight,” head coach Marc Davis said. “We’re definitely ahead of where we were last year at this time, and we’re only going to improve as long as we stay healthy and continue to work smartly.
“I was especially happy with how our underclassmen performed today. There’s a lot of potential in that group, and I’m looking forward to seeing them develop as the season goes on.”
Sophomore Sydney Wright beat her previous Blazer invitational time and earned a 14th-place finish in the 60-meter dash with 7.73 second effort.
The women’s 4×400 meter relay was won by the Troy women’s team. The team consisted of sophomore Niata Alexander, freshmen Tiarra Bailey and Ashley McDonald, and junior Dallas Worthy. The first place finishers posted a time of 3:54:90.
Freshman Tyson Robinson marked his Trojan debut with a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55:44. Sophomore Garrison Floyd’s first 60-meter hurdles missed out on qualification for the final by less than a tenth of a second.
The Trojans return to Birmingham with two more visits to the Crossplex. The Trojan pentathletes will once again be in Birmingham on Thursday, Jan. 21, to compete in the Samford Multi and Invitational meet.
