UAPB Track & Field: Golden Lions Roars Strong Showing at Little Rock Invitational
Little Rock, AR. – The University of Arkansas Pine Bluff men’s and women’s track and field teams once again performed well at the Little Rock Invitational this weekend, placing third overall on each side out of 10 teams.
Both squads had broken invitational records as they prepare for the SWAC Outdoor Championship in two weeks.
In the 200m, the Golden Lions got off to a hot start, with three runners finishing in the top four.
Ross Walrond set the invitational record, finishing first with a time of 20.60, followed by Jared Sylvester in third with a time of 20.76, and Mohamaed Soumare in fourth with a time of 20.80. In the 100m dash, Che Rochford placed seventh with a time of 10.71, and Pierre Brownlee-Ford placed 10th with a time of 10.77.
Christopher Coleman placed fifth in the 400m with a time of 49.48, then Ryan Longmire placed fifth in the 800m with a time of 1:54.49.
In the recent track and field event, Dwight Henry achieved second place in the 110m hurdles, breaking a facility record with a time of 14.12. Zachariah McGowan, on the other hand, secured fifth place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 57.81. Inertia Mugethi also participated and came in sixth in the 5000m race with a time of 16:26.30.
The Golden Lions relay team also performed exceptionally well. They won first place in both the 4x100m and 4x400m races, with a time of 39.82 and 3:17.68, respectively.
In the field events, the Golden Lions had three jumpers to place within the top-10. Anson Moses and Brownlee-Ford tied for sixth with a distance of 6.83m, followed by Rochford who round out the event in 10th with a leap of 6.42m.
On the women’s side, the Golden Lions had a great start in the hurdles, with three runners finishing in the top four. Arryona Simmons won first place with a time of 14.27, followed by Jaylynn Hampton in second with a time of 14.31. Alili Pleas-Carnie finished fourth with a time of 15.20. In the 400m hurdles, Pleas-Carnie secured first place with a time of 1:02.11.
During the invitational meet, UAPB managed to break the facility record in the relay events with an impressive first-place time of 3:49.40. They also secured third place in the 4x100m relay with a time of 46.68.
Kalani Vreen finished fourth in the 400m with a time of 58.34, while Jada Turner secured the fourth position in the 800m with a time of 2:21.45. In the distance running event, Kris-Ann Plummer placed seventh in the 1500m with a time of 4:58.98.
In the field events, Jalynn Hampton was a star performer, winning the women’s high jump competition with a leap of 1.75m and setting a facility record. She also clinched third place in the long jump competition with a leap of 5.72m.
The Golden Lions will compete at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on April 18th.
