April 16, 2011

Full Results

AUBURN, Ala. - Inclement weather at the War Eagle Invite pushed most of what was originally scheduled for a two-day event into a packed Saturday schedule. Rolling with the circumstances, the University of Memphis track and field squad marched onto Hutsell-Rosen Track and stood toe-to-toe with foes from around the south.

Certainly the most impressive performance of the day came from sophomore Savvas Arestis. The newcomer tossed the discus 54.64m (179' 3"), good for fifth place and a personal best. That mark would move him in the top-10 in the East Region if the marks stayed the same through the weekend.

Junior hurdler Tayanna Simpson continued her impressive season as well. After establishing the school record in the 100m hurdles at last week's Ole Miss Invite, Simpson continued her strong junior campaign by coming in second in the event at the War Eagle Invite with a 13.92 mark, tying for her best finish this season.

In the men's 110m hurdles, junior Robert Jackson finished fourth with a 14.25 mark; his qualifying time of 14.07 was his second-highest mark of the 2011 outdoor season.

In the 100m dash, senior LaShundra Kershaw was her usual speedy self, finishing fifth with an 11.58 dash, marking the second week in a row she's clocked in at under 11.60.

Continuing with the veterans, senior middle distance runner Guy Hudson was fourth in the 800m run with a 1:52.49 mark, his season's best. Hudson has yet to finish out of the top-five in four outdoor races in 2011.

In the women's middle distances, two separate 1500m run events yielded three top-eight finishes for the Tigers. In the invitational, freshman Ellen Kildal finished sixth with a 4:39.96 mark, besting her former career high by better than six seconds. In the open, sophomore Louisa Lingley (4:48.18) and junior Jasmine Darden (4:48.87) were sixth and seventh, respectively, with each turning in career-best marks.

In the longer distances, freshman James Maglasang set the bar pretty high for the rest of the season with a Tiger season-best 15:02.98 mark, finishing fourth in the 5000m run.

Among the most pleasant surprises at Auburn was the performance of sophomore pole vaulter Nate Arnold. Enduring high winds, Arnold still managed to hit a career-best 4.91m (16' 1.25") mark, earning a fourth-place finish.

Sophomore transfer Casey Carl continued his strong start at the U of M with a fifth-place, 57.75m (189' 6") toss.

The 4x400m relay team of Hudson, fellow seniors Richard Lowe and Nick Harold and freshman Brandon Williams set a Memphis season-best with a 3:14.96, finishing ninth.

Two Tiger high jumpers hit 2.00m (6' 6.75") at Auburn, with senior Jerome Leslie and freshman Darius Lynwood finishing in a tie for eighth; it equaled Lynwood's career-best, and gave Leslie his highest mark of the 2011 outdoor season.

The Tigers will split next weekend up, with a portion of the squad participating in the Mississippi Open, hosted by Ole Miss, and the rest traveling to Nashville for the Vanderbilt Invite.