LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Evansville men’s and women’s track and field teams finished the outdoor regular season with a pair of program record-breaking performances at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Ky.
Both program records on the day were set by the Purple Aces’ women’s team while multiple other records came within seconds of being set.
In the women’s 100 meter dash, Nikki Hutchcraft paced the way for Evansville with a 36th-place finish in a time of 12.97, followed by teammates Monica Watkins (13.16) and Taylor Williams (15.69), who finished in 38th and 40th, respectively. Aaron Straight represented the Aces men in the men’s 100 meter dash, finishing in 33rd in a time of 11.73.
For the Aces in the women’s 200 meter dash, Holli Buretta finished in 43rd in a time of 32.99. Straight continued to represent the Aces men in the sprint events as the freshman crossed the line in 30th with a time of 24.62.
Lizzy Walston nearly took down a 34-year old record as the freshman crossed the line less than three seconds shy of the program mark in a time of 1:02.97, earning her a 33rd-place finish. Just behind Walston was Tess Hupe, who finished in 35th in a time of 1:08.84.
Continuing his strong spring for Evansville, Stanley Chepchieng finished just over two seconds off a program record that has stood since 1983. The freshman finished the men’s 800 meters in 17th in a time of 1:56.61, just 2.11 seconds off David Denny’s time set in 1983. Also for UE’s men in the men’s 800 meters were Ricky Hendrix (2:12.24) and Grant Mangan (2:21.00) who finished in 42nd and 43rd. The women’s 800 meters featured three Aces, led by Sienna Crews, who finished the race in 2:22.64 in 21st place, while Sarah Poltrack (2:37.67) and Lexi Sutherland (2:54.62) crossed the line in 41st and 43rd, respectively.
Freshman Anna Lowry captured her second program record of the outdoor season in the women’s 1500 meters as Lowry topped teammate Sienna Crews’ record by over two seconds with a time of 4:56.71, finishing in 31st. Also in the women’s 1500 meters for the Aces were Lauren Meyer, who finished 44th in 5:19.42, and Izzy Dawson just behind 45th in a time of 5:21.91. For the Aces men, Jonathan Newby crossed the line in a time of 4:43.98 in 38th-place.
In the men’s 5,000 meters, Ethan Price led the way for the Aces, finishing in 21st in a time of 16:23.23, while Timmy Miller came home in 28th with a time of 17:42.96.
Kalen Ochs took part in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase for Evansville as the freshman finished in 17th, recording a time of 10:47.54.
On the women’s side, Samantha Bittner crossed the finish line in a time of 17.20 in 34th place.
Bittner improved on her program record in the women’s 400 meter hurdles as the freshman recorded a time of 1:13.08, finishing in 19th place.
Evansville’s women finished in 12th in the women’s 4×100 meter relay, finishing the race in a time of 52.86.
Nikki Hutchcraft upped her own program record by more than two meters in the women’s javelin with a throw of 25.59 meters, earning her a 23rd-place finish. Fellow Ace Brittany Corley also competed in the women’s javelin, finishing in 26th with a throw of 18.53 meters. On the men’s side, Clay Doty paced Evansville with a throw of 35.38 meters, finishing in 11th, while Ryan Freeman finished in 13th with a throw of 33.55 meters.
In the women’s discus, Corley finished in 21st  as the freshman recorded a distance of 30.75 meters.
Freshman Ian Alberts set a new personal best in the men’s pole vault competition as Alberts finished in eighth with a height of 3.87 meters.
Evansville returns to action at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 11 through 13 in Terre Haute, Ind.
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