Troy University Athletics
Friday, January 15
Birmingham, Ala.
Troy University
at
UAB Invitational
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Throws
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Thrower
/ Track & Field
Multis/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints
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Mid-Distance
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Throws
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Underclassmen Shine in 2016 Indoor Opener at Blazer Invitational
1/16/2016 10:34:00 PM | Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Troy's men's and women's track teams got their 2016 indoor season off to a promising start on Friday with several top-three finishes and personal bests set at the Blazer Invitational hosted by UAB at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
"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 smart. 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."
Highlights included freshman Michael Alvernaz's victory in the men's weight throw, which he won with a 16.98-meter (55'8.5") toss. His classmate, Caleb Brown, also made a dazzling collegiate debut by earning third place in the event with a 15.98-meter (52'5.25") mark. In the men's shot put, junior Zach Douglas took second place by recording a 16.32-meter (53'6") throw, while freshman Indiya Summerville threw the shot 13.30 meters (43'7.75") to win her heat and take eighth overall.
In a tightly contested field of more than 40 competitors, senior captain Benjamin Martin and freshman Hakim Montgomery both raced to personal-best times (6.81 and 6.83 seconds, respectively) in the preliminary rounds of 60-meter dash and qualified for the final. Due to injury, Martin sat out the last round and cheered on Montgomery, who impressively placed fourth overall with a time of 6.86 seconds. In addition, sophomore Sydney Wright managed to improve on the 60-meter-dash time she posted at last year's Blazer Invitational by racing to a 7.73-second finish.
The Trojans also won the women's 4x400-meter relay, which consisted of sophomore Niata Alexander, freshmen Tiarra Bailey and Ashley McDonald and junior Dallas Worthy, who outpaced the rest of the field to win the event in a time of 3:54.90 minutes.
Freshman middle-distance runner Tyson Robinson made his debut in cardinal and white by taking fifth in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.44 seconds. Sophomore Garrison Floyd also ran the 60-meter hurdles for the first time ever in 8.21 seconds and missed qualifying for the final by less than a tenth of a second.
The Trojans will continue their indoor season next week with two meets at the CrossPlex. Troy's pentathletes will travel to Birmingham once again from Wednesday, Jan. 20 – Thursday, Jan. 21 to participate in the Samford Multi and Invitational Meet, while the women's squad will compete at the Emory Invitational on Sunday, Jan. 24.
Fans can keep up with the action by following Troy track and field and cross country on Twitter @TroyTrojanXC_TF and Instagram @TroyTrojansTFXC.
For more information on Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram @TroyAthletics and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
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