Kent State University
Kent State National Qualifier
Track and Field Hosts Successful National Qualifier
2/11/2018 10:55:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
KENT, Ohio — The Kent State track and field program had several individuals post season-best marks at the Kent State National Qualifier on Saturday afternoon inside of the Kent State Field House.
The Golden Flashes won eight events on the day, including six on the men's side. Riak Reese won both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash for the second week in a row. Reese improved his personal-best in the 200m by clocking a 20.99 while winning the 60m in 6.75. Clark Bookman won the 3,000-meter run (8:34.29), while Tyler Williams won the 400-meter dash (55.29) and Maddie Dunlap won the 3,000-meter run (10:08.18) on the women's side. It was a season-best time for Williams and Dunlap trimmed her best time by nearly 20 seconds in winning the race for the third time this season.
Craig Stevens, Jr. highlighted victories in the field events with a mark of 53'00.75" in the triple jump. The jump puts Stevens, Jr. at No. 7 in the country and will likely earn him a spot at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas.
Kent State had several terrific performances in the men's long jump, where the Flashes claimed the top three spots and five of the top six. Samory Fraga equaled his own school record with a jump of 25'04.50" to win the event. TJ Lawson (24'-06.25") and Isaac Agyemang (23'04.00") took second and third, respectively. Christian Champen finished fifth and JJ Johnson finished sixth.
Brad Jones rounded out the victories for Kent State, taking first in the high jump with a mark of 6'-09.00".
The Flashes had nine competitors finish second on the day. Sam Tollerud led these performances by clearing a season-best 13'-08.00" in the women's pole vault, finishing only behind U.S. record holder Jenn Suhr. Lauren Burnett (800-meter run), Olivia Davis (one-mile run), Mi'Angel Daniels (60-meter hurdles) and Gabrielle Figueroa (weight throw) also earned runner-up finishes for the women.
On the men's side, Kevin Jones (800-meter run), Grzegorz Kunc (one-mile run) and Jake Wickey (weight throw) joined Lawson with second-place finishes.
Kent State alumna and 2016 Olympian Danniel Thomas-Dodd competed in the shot put and broke her own Kent State Field House record with a heave of 62'-06.00".
The Flashes will conclude the regular season by hosting the Kent State Tune Up on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Kent State Field House.
Players Mentioned
