Thompson Posts Season-Best Pole Vault Clearance Friday at Akron Invite
2/7/2020 11:04:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
AKRON, Ohio – Kent State senior Ally Thompson led Kent State's track and field student-athletes in action Friday at the Akron Invitational with a first-place finish in the blue division pole vault.
Thompson cleared a season-best height of 12'-8.25" to capture her first win of the year. She cleared four bars during the competition but was unsuccessful at a height of 13'-0.25", which would have been a new indoor personal-best. Christy Nell tied for third with a top height of 12'-0.50".
Desiree Thomas posted a personal-best score of 3,100 points to finish fourth in the pentathlon. Thomas set PRs in high jump (5'-5.25"), shot put (32'-5") and long jump (17'-2") on the day. She took first in the long jump and clocked a 9.35 in the 60-meter hurdles to earn 838 points, her highest total of the day. Grace Frye finished first in the shot put with a top throw of 40' and totaled 2,993 points in the competition for sixth place.
On the men's side, Alex Stamper and Clark Bookman placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Stamper finished in a personal-best time of 14:47.78, while Bookman crossed the finish line in 14:52.74.
Competition at the Akron Invitational resumes at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.
![Four Kent State track and field athletes pose together on the awards podium wearing light blue Under Armour uniforms and gold MAC Championship medals. Left to right: Chaz Sakala (bib 1196), Sean [last name partially visible] (bib 1157, holding a relay baton), Ryan Gross (bib 1167), and Jacob Stanley (bib 1192). The group smiles for the camera following their relay event at the MAC Outdoor Championships.](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fkentstatesports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F5%2F21%2FIMG_2657.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
