Kent State University
Akron Quad
Tennant's Win, Wickey's PR Highlight Season Opener
1/15/2021 9:16:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
AKRON, Ohio - In the opening meet of the 2021 indoor season, Kent State came away with one victory and several of top-five performances at Friday's Akron Quad meet.
Headlining the meet for the Golden Flashes was senior Grace Tennant, who won the women's shot put with a mark of 52'-3.75". The win Friday night was Tennant's third straight win at Stile Field House, having won the 2020 Akron Invitational and the 2020 Mid-American Conference shot put titles inside the same building.
The women had a strong showing in the 3,000-meter run with three of the top five finishers. The group was led to the line by Maddie Dunlap, who finished second in 10:34.37 and was followed by Leah Lisle in third (10:46.25, indoor best) and Paige Yoder in fifth (11:08.10).
Rounding out the top performers on the women's side were long jumper Sarena Choi, who took second with a leap of 18'-07" and high jumper Desiree Thomas, who finished third clearing 5'-2.25".
The men had two second-place finishers to lead the team. Jake Wickey set a personal-best in the weight throw with a toss of 69'-2", which is good for No. 5 in the Kent State record book. The 4x400m relay team of Kyle Sommer, Jonathan Solomon, Justin Dwyer and Zavien Parker also finished second with a time of 3:19.92.
One of the highlights of the meet for the Flashes was the collegiate debut of Alexander Shields, who earned third-place finishes in the long jump (22'-4.5") and 60-meter hurdles (8.25). Also earning a third-place finish in his debut was Gavin Schoeneman, who cleared 6'-08.75" in the high jump.
Additional top-five finishers for the men were Quintin Cooks, who finished fourth in the 400m in a time of 50.74, Jack McElligott, who went fifth in the high jump (6'-6.75"), and Jacob Sommers, who finished fifth in the pole vault (14'-7.25").
Kent State will be back in action on Friday, January 22 for the annual Akron Dual at the Stile Field House.
Players Mentioned
