Fraga, Lawson and Reese Headline Outstanding Performances Friday at Tennessee Relays
4/13/2018 10:44:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —Samory Fraga, TJ Lawson and Riak Reese all posted national Top-10 marks to highlight standout performances by several Kent State athletes Friday at the Tennessee Relays.
Fraga soared 25'-8" on his fifth attempt to break the Golden Flashes' 32 year-old long jump record. The junior All-American is now the program's event record holder for both indoor and outdoor competition. His runner-up mark ranks 10th nationally.
Lawson dominated the field on the second day of decathlon competition and finished with 7,642 points, which ranks 6 in the country this season and gave him a 721-point margin of victory. The All-American tied for first with a personal-best height of 15'-1" in the pole vault, while taking second in the discus (130'-9") and javelin (personal-best 168'-7"). Lawson placed third in the 100-meter hurdles (14.92) and 1500-meter run (4:48.61).
Reese's blazing speed was on display in the 100-meter dash, as he earned his first victory of the outdoor season with a time of 10.18. The personal-best puts him at No. 9 in the country this season and ranks third in the Kent State record book. Reese returned to the track in the evening and clocked a 20.82 to place fourth in the 200-meter dash.
In addition to Lawson, the Flashes had three athletes finish in the top-eight of the decathlon. Ryan Looser scored 3,365 points on the day, which only trailed Lawson, to jump seven spots in the event standing and place fourth with 6,685 points. Looser matched his personal-best with a height of 15'-1" top tie for first in the pole vault while posting top-five finishes in the discus (personal-best 127'-1") and javelin (155'-10"). Jacob Mally totaled 6,572 points in his first decathlon to place fifth. Mally started the day with a second-place performance in the 110-meter hurdles (14.70) and closed the day by taking fourth in the 1500-meter run (4:50.96). Isaac Agyemang totaled 6,089 points to finish in eighth-place. Agyemang's best event of the day was the 110-meter hurdles, as he clocked a 15.39 to place sixth and earn 803 points.
Evan Lesnick edged his name in the Kent State record by clearing 16'-6.75" for a third-place finish in the men's pole vault. Lesnick's personal-best mark is tied for the eighth-best in program history.
A pair of Flashes earned fourth-place finishes, as Clark Bookman ran the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase on 9:29.69 and Grace Tennant unleashed a personal-best 49'-9" in the women's shot put.
Alyssa Matheny and Talia Falco had strong showings in the women's high jump. Matheny cleared 5'-5" for sixth and Falco tied for seventh with a height of 5'-3".
Fraga was not the only Flash who had success in the long jump on Friday. Cayla Carey placed seventh in the women's competition with a top jump of 19'-11.5" and Jonathan Grant took ninth in the men's competition with a mark of 23'-8.75".
Saturday's final day of the Tennessee Relays will feature the relay races and remaining field events with the women's discus starting the action at 10 a.m. At approximately 2:10 p.m., Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin will team with Christian Coleman, Ronnie Baker and Mike Rodgers as part of America's Team sponsored by Pro Form Sports in the 4x100m relay, attempting to break the American record in the event. Beginning at 11:30 a.m., the meet will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
Players Mentioned
