Track and Field | 2/11/2019 7:32:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Methodist's men's and women's indoor track & field teams collected personal bests Monday at the 2019 Southern Indoor Challenge as if it was Halloween and the new PRs were candy.
Several of the Monarchs' highest finishers recorded personal bests including
Kimeesha Whitlock,
Erran Greene,
Makayla Lawler,
James Thigpen and
Jimlyn Laurent.
THE ESSENTIALS
Event: 2019 Southern Indoor Challenge
Host: Birmingham Southern College
Location: Birmingham Crossplex (indoor 8-lane oval); Birmingham, Alabama
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Laurent hit the track first for Methodist, posting a new best time of 8.00 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 60-meter dash, winning her heat and advancing into the semifinal round. It was there in the semis that Laurent broke the 8-second barrier for the first time, posting a third-place time of 7.97 to advance on to the finals. The third sprint of the day, later in the event schedule, was not as quick as her previous dashes down the surface, but Laurent finished fifth overall with a finals time of 8.05.
- Dennis Wright and Xavius Capehart raced in the men's 60, finishing 26th and 39th, respectively. Wright came back later in the meet schedule to post a PR in the 200-meter dash with a new best time of 24.68 seconds.
- Also in the sprints, Whitlock set a new best in the 200 with a 20th-place time of 27.13, and Olivia Mague set a PR in the same event with a time of 29.14; Chakaylan Patterson tied her PR (1 minute, 8.21 seconds) in the 400-meter dash; Mague also PRed in the 60-meter hurdles, an event on the men's side in which Jeremy Prichard finished second overall with a clocking of 8.68 seconds, just 0.16 seconds off his collegiate best.
- Prichard also finished sixth in the 400 with a time of 50.20 seconds.
- Teammate Erran Greene posted a PR in the 800-meter run, finishing 11th with his time of 2:00.72.
- In the longest event on the schedule, the 5,000-meter run, Lawler shattered her previous indoor best by 36 seconds, finishing third overall in a time of 18:26.60. Lawler was one of four runners to surpass the previous meet record of 19:00.17.
- Whitlock hit the sand with a best leap of 4.96 meters (16 feet-3 ¼ inches) in the women's long jump to finish eighth overall with her new PR.
- Also in the field events, Thigpen tossed a new PR of 8.49m (27-10 ¼) in the men's shot put.
- Prichard tied for second in the men's high jump, clearing a height of 1.85m (6-00 ¾).
NEXT UP
Methodist's men and women will compete in the University of South Carolina Open in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday.
