Mountaineers Conclude Visit to Akron Invite

Saturday, February 8

Akron, OH

10 a.m.

West Virginia University

Akron Invitational

Photo by: Norman Wills

February 08, 2020 08:05 PM | Track & Field

Results (PDF)

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team earned a pair of top-five finishes on the final day of competition at the Akron Invitational at the Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday.

Sophomore Myesha Nott paced the Mountaineers, finishing in second place in the women's triple jump to earn a new career-high mark. Classmate Tessa Constantine also registered a top-five finish on Saturday, earning fifth place in the 400-meter dash.

"Having the opportunity to compete on a 300-meter track was useful for the group," Mountaineer coach Sean Cleary said. "Overall, I felt we were a touch flat, but did emerge from the meet with some quality performances. Our goal for the next couple weeks is to get this nasty flu bug behind us and take another few shots at improving our season bests before the Big 12 Championship."

The morning session started with the women's weight throw (blue division), where sophomore Sada Wright finished in 12th place with a mark of 14.84 meters. In the 3,000-meter run (blue division), redshirt freshman Peyton Kukura crossed the finish line in 10:58.88 to take 14th place.

A pair of Mountaineers competed in the mile (blue division), led by redshirt sophomore Marianne Abdalah's sixth-place finish in 5:10.52. Sophomore Linda Jebet followed in 23rd place, crossing the line in 5:29.67. Constantine's fifth-place finish came next, as the Sydney, Australia, native posted a time of 57.82 in the 400-meter dash (blue division). Redshirt freshman Amber Dombrowski also competed in the 400 meters, finishing 19th in 1:00.38.

Freshmen Michaela Rose and Erica Hegele represented WVU in the 60-meter dash (blue division). Rose crossed the line first, taking 31st place in 8.05 seconds, while Hegele was behind her in 37th (8.56). Hegele also competed in the 60-meter hurdles (blue division), taking 17th with a time of 9.29 seconds. The morning's events concluded with the 200-meter dash (blue division), where Constantine added a 17th-place finish in 25.88 and Rose followed in 21st place with a time of 26.15.

Nott opened the afternoon session for the Mountaineers, securing a second-place finish in the triple jump with a career-best mark of 12.45 meters. Redshirt freshman Hannah Lipps concluded the day for West Virginia in the 3,000 meters (gold division), finishing in seventh place after crossing the line in 10:09.75.

Additionally, redshirt sophomore Hayley Jackson also represented the Mountaineers at the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Lusby, Maryland, native made her season event debut in the mile on Saturday, finishing in ninth place in the finals after crossing the line in 4:45.06. After taking Camel City's 200-meter track into consideration, Jackson's time will be recognized as 4:42.27 by the NCAA, which now ranks No. 2 in the event in the Big 12 so far this season.

"I believe the trip down to North Carolina was very worthwhile for Hayley and her running career," Cleary said. "We set a goal for the year to put her in situations that put her against women superior to her on paper in order to teach her to run well in pressure situations. Today's result, while it will be converted to 4:42.27 by the NCAA, is a good step in the right direction."

Next up for the Mountaineers is the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, in Boston, Massachusetts. Action at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center is set to take place from Friday, Feb. 14 to Saturday, Feb. 15.

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