April 28, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn.- School and personal records were set on day two the Memphis Invitational at the Billy J. Murphy Track and Field Complex. In their final meet before the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, Tiger track and field squads put together a strong performance for the hometown crowd.

"I think we finally stepped up and had a solid meet over all," said head coach Kevin Robinson. "I think we all got on the track and performed at or near our abilities, and I feel like it was a really good tune up to prepare for the conference meet."

Sophomore Kala Funderburk broke her own school-record and took first place in the 400m dash crossing the line at 53.76. Funderburk surpassed her previous mark of 53.97 set earlier this season. Teammate Keyona Neal took second place with a new personal best of 54.27. For the men, Jeremy Rice took fourth with a time of 51.14.

In the 400m hurdles Maya Williamson took second and set a new school-record with a time of 59.81. Williamson broke Tayanna Simpson's mark of 59.99 set in 2011. Brandon Williams took first for the men checking in at 52.11. Fellow sprinters Ojike Maat (54.54) and Tevin Jones (56.00) finished fourth and fifth.

Freshman Bronte Smith set a new personal-record and took first place in the women's 100m hurdles with a time of 14.24. Quaniqua Jones (14.37) and Xenia Rahn (14.76) took second and fourth place.

In the men's 110m hurdles Tyrelle Forde took first place with a new personal record of 14.16. Fellow hurdlers Robert Jackson (14.22), Marc Klaschka (15.26) and Tim Jones (16.57) finished second, fourth and fifth respectively.

In the men's 100m dash, Taurean Nixon took fourth with a time of 10.90, while fellow Tiger Jaz Davis took fifth at 10.91. The Memphis Invitational was Nixon's first meet of the 2012 outdoor season.

Laura Toldy (2:12.60), Nandia Taylor (2:13.07), Jasmine Darden (2:15.67), Monica Mason (2:16.63) and Jennifer Johnston (2:29.57) finished first through fifth in the women's 800m run. Taylor and Darden's marks were new personal bests.

Juilen Wolf took the men's title in the 800m run with a new personal-best of 1:53.63. James Maglasang (1:55.11), Stephan Ender (1:55.40), Justin Pinkston (1:56.12) and Adbi Guleed (1:56.72) finished third through sixth in the event.

Maglasang also took the men's title in the 1,500m run with a time of 3:54.03. Fellow distance runner Austin Carter took eighth place with new personal-best of 4:04.91. For the women' Jennifer Johnston took fifth crossing the line at 5:02.15.

Running in his final Memphis Invitational as a senior, Robert Skinner took sixth place with a new personal-record of 9:13.80 in the 3,000m run. Erica Owen (10:52.98) and Laura Hill (11:38.48) took sixth and seventh for the women.

Memphis high jumpers took home a pair of first place finishes. Laura Toldy took the women's title clearing 1.74m (5' 8.50"). Kirsten Berding (1.71m, 5' 7.25"), Vivian Haynes (1.63m, 5' 4.25") and Quaniqua Jones (1.43m, 4' 8.25") finished third through fifth place.

Darius Lynwood took the title in the men's high jump clearing the bar at 2.10m (6' 10.75"). Tim Jones took sixth with a height of 1.80m (5' 10.75"). Lynwood also took fifth in the men's triple jump landing at 14.40m (47' 3"), while teammates D'Ernest Rucker (13.84m, 45' 5") and Jaleen White (13.52m, 44' 4.25") took seventh and ninth.

For the second meet in a row Austin Crenshaw cleared 17 feet in the pole vault. Crenshaw took second place clearing the bar at 5.22m (17' 1.50"). Senior Karlis Pujats took third with a height of 5.12 (16' 9.50"). For the women, Kimi Jennings took fourth place with a vault of 3.33m (10' 11").

In the shot put Andrew Miller (15.89m, 52' 1.75"), Matt Sipe (15.41m, 50' 6.75"), Tom Willcox (15.09m, 49' 6.25") took second, third and fourth place for the men. In the women's shot put, Anna-Maria Bischof (14.15m, 46' 5.25"), Allison Hotz (14.11m, 46' 3.50") and Britta Jaarats (14.01m, 45' 11.75") finished fifth, sixth and seventh.

Bischof took first in the women's javelin with a throw of 42.59m (139' 9"), while Xenia Rahn (41.72m, 136' 10"), Laura Toldy (31.82m, 104' 5") and Quaniqua Jones (24.46m, 80' 3") finished second, third and fifth respectively. Tiger men finished first, second and third in the event with Kyle Bynum taking the top spot with a new personal-record of 63.06m (206' 11") followed by Thomas Poole's new personal-record of 58.12m (190' 8") and Casey Carl at 57.76m (189' 6").

Bynum took the highest finish for the Tigers in the discus placing seventh with a throw of 42.96m (140' 11"). For the women Bischof took fifth landing at 43.20m (141"09').

The Tigers will now take a week off from action before traveling to New Orleans, La. for the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. For more information on Memphis track and field squads visit GoTigersGo.com.