Jackson, McKenzie Lead Mountaineers at YSU

Friday, January 17

Youngstown, Ohio

Noon

West Virginia University

YSU Collegiate Invitational

January 17, 2020 10:35 PM | Track & Field

Results (PDF)

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team was paced by wins from sophomore Peter-Gay McKenzie and redshirt sophomore Hayley Jackson at the YSU Collegiate Invitational on Friday, at the Watson and Tressel Training Site in Youngstown, Ohio.

In their 2019-20 season debuts, the duo picked up where they left off last season, securing wins to lead the Mountaineers at the meet. Jackson's victory came in the 800-meter run, while McKenzie grabbed the top spot in the long jump. For Jackson, her time of 2:09.97 in the 800 marks a career best in the event in indoor track and field. She tops her previous best time of 2:10.37, which she set at the Akron Invitational last season.

The Mountaineers finished the night with nine top-10 finishes, including five top-three performances in the squad's first road trip of the season.

"We had a couple very nice performances today," Mountaineer coach Sean Cleary said. "It was nice to see Peter Gay back in uniform and jumping very consistently. I would say we had about half of the team leave the meet with results that pleased them. We need to keep working out the kinks in practice. If we add a few more new faces when we compete at Penn State, then we can keep improving."

Redshirt freshman Amber Dombrowski opened the action for WVU in the 500-meter dash, crossing the line in 79.30. Jackson's win in the 800 meters came next, and she posted a time of 2:09.97 to secure WVU's first victory of the day. Redshirt sophomore Peyton Kukura followed in eighth place with a time of 2:17.62.

In the 3,000-meter run, redshirt freshman Malina Mitchell finished in fourth place with a time of 10:12.29, while redshirt sophomore Marianne Abdalah was close behind in sixth (10:14.15). Freshman Erica Hegele competed in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 29th place after crossing the line in 9.83 seconds. Also in the prelims of the 60-meter dash was freshman Michaela Rose, and she grabbed 17th place, clocking a time of 7.99 seconds.

In field events, McKenzie paced the squad, taking first place in the long jump with a distance of 5.88 meters. Juniors Ellie Gardner and Myesha Nott grabbed a pair of second-place finishes in the pole vault and triple jump, reaching marks of 3.80 meters and 5.88 meters, respectively. Sophomore Molly DeBone also competed in the pole vault competition, taking 11th place with a jump of 3.35 meters.

Freshman Katelyn Caccamo and sophomore Julia Brundin jumped in the unseeded pole vault competition, taking fourth (3.52m) and 11th (3.22), respectively. In the final event of the day, sophomore Sada Wright represented West Virginia in the weight throw, taking 16th place with a throw of 15.25 meters.

Five Mountaineers made their season debuts at YSU, as Jackson, McKenzie, Kukura, Mitchell and DeBone competed for the first time of the 2019-20 indoor campaign Friday afternoon.

WVU was joined by 32 other teams in Youngstown on Friday, including Ashland, Buffalo, Carlow, Carnegie Melon, Cedarville, Chatham, Clarion, Cleveland State, Duquesne, Edinboro, Findlay, Geneva, Glenville State, Grove City, Hillsdale, Kent State, Malone, Mount Union, Ohio, Pitt-Johnstown, Penn State-Greater Allegheny, Point Park, Robert Morris, Seton Hill, Slippery Rock, St. Vincent (Pa.), Thiel, Walsh, Washington and Jefferson, Westminster (Pa.), Western Michigan, Wheeling University and Youngstown State.

After a week away from competition, the Mountaineers return to action at the Penn State National Open from Jan. 3 - Feb. 1, in University Park, Pennsylvania.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.