The Purple Aces competed in most of the action on Friday evening
NASHVILLE – The University of Evansville track and field team finished its first day at the Outdoor Music City Challenge, resetting two program records and earning a podium finish in one of the most competitive meets of the season.
Sophomores Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) and Samuel Lea (Worcester, England) reset their Purple Aces program records in the women’s 200-meter dash and the men’s 5K race on Friday. Sophomore thrower Cole Johnson (Salem, Ill. / Salem Community HS) also earned UE’s only podium finish of the day in the men’s discus throw to begin the Outdoor Music City Challenge. Evansville had multiple people earn PRs during Friday’s action in a tight day of competition.
SPRINTS
The Aces’ night on the track began with the 100-meter dash, where sophomore Raymond Felton III (Houston / Clear Brook HS) placed just outside the top 10 with a time of 10.60. UE didn’t return to the track until over an hour later with the men’s and women’s 200-meter dashes. Johnson improved on her program record in the event with a 24.96 finish on Friday night.
In the men’s race, Felton had the fastest finish, placing ninth with a time of 21.37 seconds, just a hundredth of a second behind his PR. Sophomore Connor Shin (Bloomington, Ind. / Bloomington North HS) and junior José Ocampo (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) also finished the race just two places away from each other with times of 22.40 and 22.48 seconds.
MID-DISTANCE
Evansville’s only mid-distance race of the night was the men’s and women’s 1500-meter event. Sophomore Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind. / Western HS) ran the first 1500 race of her career in Nashville. She finished the race in 4:49.58 for the Aces’ fastest finish in the event during the outdoor season.
In the men’s race, senior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn. / Central HS) set a new PR at 3:54.58 for 24th. Oulgout’s time was also the fastest for UE in the event and was less than 10 seconds off the program record set by David Denny in 1983. The senior was only three seconds off the fastest MVC runner in the event on Friday night, Belmont senior Joel Wolf.
DISTANCE
Similar to mid-distance competition, Evansville only ran in one distance event on Friday night. Sophomores Avery Stephens (Newburg, Ind. / Castle HS) and Lea ran the final event of the evening, the 5K race. Stephens improved her PR in the event by over 15 seconds, finishing in 18:02.92. On the men’s side, Lea had the Aces’ best track finish of the day, placing fifth in the event with a time of 14:35.11 to improve on his own program record by more than six seconds.
THROWS
UE’s day in Nashville began in the field with the men’s and women’s javelin throw. Sophomore Cole Johnson (Salem, Ill. / Salem Community HS) threw just under his PR at 46.24 meters to place fourth in the event. While on the women’s side, Kaitlyn Sansone (Fairfield, Ohio / Mercy McAuley HS) threw 26.11 meters.
Evansville’s other throws event on Friday night was the men’s and women’s discus throw. The women’s event freshman Emma Bertel (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community HS) threw for 33.66 meters. On the men’s side, the Aces had two throwers participate in Johnson and sophomore Tyler Cherne (Boardman, Ohio / Boardman HS).
Johnson was again just shy of his PR in the discus event with a throw of 42.32 meters. While he didn’t break his PR, Johnson earned the only podium finish of the day for UE, placing third in the event. Cherne wasn’t far behind Johnson with a throw of 40.34 meters for sixth place.
