Troy University Athletics
Troy University
South Alabama Invitational
Track and Field Opens Outdoor Season at South Alabama, USF
3/14/2024 1:14:00 PM | Track & Field
TROY, Ala. – One month after the conclusion of the indoor season, Troy's track and field team will begin its outdoor season by sending athletes to the South Alabama Invitational in Mobile, Ala., and the USF Alumni Invitational in Tampa, Fla., this Friday and Saturday.
The women's roster is coming off a strong indoor finish, seeing multiple personal records, including Biniosa Ezukuse, who threw 15.17m in shot put; Alejandra Gutierrez Fuente, who ended the indoor season with a triple jump of 12.17m; and the 4x4 team of Gutierrez Fuente, Kasia Cooper, Kady Schwietz, and Kyra Dalluge, who clocked in a season-best 3:54.17 at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship.
The men's side also looks to build momentum going into the outdoor season. Sophomore Tydreke Thomas, who attained his personal best of 6.62 in the 60-meter dash in January, will make the trek to South Florida to compete in the 100-meter sprint. Altwayne Bedward, who is coming off a shot-put second-place finish of 17.24m at the Music City Challenge in February, will also compete in Tampa.
Meet Information
What: USF Alumni Invitational / South Alabama Invitational
When: March 15-16
Where: Tampa, Fla. (USF Track & Field Stadium) and Mobile, Ala. (The Jaguar Track)
Watch: ESPN+ (USF only)
Throwing in Tampa
In Tampa, field events will be the Trojans' focus. Cole Stewart, who placed second in the javelin throw in South Florida last season, will make the trip back to Tampa. Joining Stewart is Morgan Reese in the hammer throw event, and the trio of Bedward, Javon Osbourne, and Anthony Symile will make up the Trojans' shot put and discus throw events. Osbourne and Symile will be familiar with Tampa, as both placed on the podium for their respective events at the South Florida Invitational last year.
On the track side, Thomas is joined by Evan Brown, Haruki Sakai, and Alex Robinson, who will form the Trojans' 4x100m relay efforts.
For the women's team, the only returner to USF is Ezukuse, who brought home gold in the shot put event and will compete in both shot put and hammer throw. The freshman Shanara Richards will make her first career appearance for the Trojans, competing in the discus throw event.
Running to Mobile
In Mobile, the runners steal the show with 38 men's and women's runners in 13 events. Headlining the runners is sophomore Kady Schweitz, who is coming off a fourth-place pentathlon finish in the SBC Indoor Championships last month.
The men bring a relatively young team to Mobile, including 11 freshmen.
Quotable – Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Marc Davis
"We are starting the season with some great competition this upcoming weekend. We're sending a split squad to USF and South Alabama with both competitions starting on Friday. Both will be high-quality meets, so it's going to be great to get everyone going once again. We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to prove and accomplish. These two meets can set the tone, so we have to go out and execute."
Players Mentioned
