Kent State University
UB Invitational
Flashes Score 13 Wins on Saturday at UB Invitational
4/17/2021 8:40:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Kent State track and field teams enjoyed their trip to Buffalo for the UB Invitational, earning 13 wins and nine second-place finishes on Saturday.
Highlighting the Golden Flashes' day was the women's sweep of the throwing titles, led by Gabby Bailey's pair of victories. Bailey traded places with teammate Grace Tennant throughout their six throws in the discus, and Bailey earned the win with a mark of 165'-7," while Tennant finished second at 164'-8". In the javelin, Bailey threw 129'-5" in her Kent State debut in the event to win the gold. Grace Frye earned bronze in the event with a mark of 119'-5".
The sweep started with Marissa Henley winning the hammer throw with a 166'-4". She was followed closely by Grace Luther, who had a second-place mark of 163'-6". Tennant started her day with a win in the shot put, throwing a personal best 53'-6.25". The throw is good for sixth on the Flashes' all-time outdoor performance list and improved her Mid-American Conference-leading mark. Bailey finished second with a throw of 51'-5.5".
On the men's side, Jaheim Jones made his outdoor debut for Kent State and earned himself two gold medals on the track. His first medal came as the anchor of the 4x100-meter relay team in which he did not have a lot to do; lead-off runner Xavier Williams did a great job making up the stagger, and Asa Hodrick and Korie Davis II gave Jones a comfortable advantage to bring home the relay title. Jones returned a short while later and completed his double with the 100-meter dash title, recording the third-fastest time in the MAC this season as he crossed the line in 10.87.
Continuing their strong seasons were Jake Wickey and Lillie Franks, as they led the Flashes to a pair of to-three finishes in the men's hammer throw and women's high jump, respectively. Wickey won the hammer throw title by over 20 feet with a 207'-1" on his final attempt, and Cole Dean finished with the bronze with a throw of 158'-6". Franks followed up her personal-best performance at the Tennessee Relays with a win Saturday in Buffalo. Franks cleared 5'-6" before going out on 5'-9.25", a mark which would have been a new personal best and would have put her tied at the top of the MAC performance list this season. Tianna McCormick finished third with a height of 5'-6.75".
Kent State also won three of the four hurdle races. Mi'Angel Daniels got it started in the 100-meter hurdles, winning in a time of 15.11 in her season debut. Jacob Mally followed that up with a win in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 15.32. Jonathan Solomon and Dontae Deas wrapped the hurdles up nicely with a 1-2 finish in the men's 400-meter hurdles, with Solomon (56.12) leading Deas (57.40) for the title.
Lukas Van Der Watt and Jacob Sommers combined to go 1-3 in the men's pole vault, with Van Der Watt clearing 15'-9" to win his second title of the season while Sommers cleared 14'-9". On the women's side, Leah Pasqualetti was the top collegiate finisher as she cleared 12'-7.5" in a third-place effort. Sami Ice finished second among collegians and tied her season-best height of 12'-1.5".
Rounding out the list of winners from Saturday's meet was Brian Phillips, who rebounded from fouling out in the long jump at the Tennessee Relays to win the title in Buffalo, jumping 22'-8".
Earning second place finishes for the Flashes were: Ruby Greenwood (56.98) in the women's 400-meter dash; Kyle Sommer (50.79) in the men's 400-meter dash; Lauren Hadley (26.36) in the women's 200-meter dash; Brad Jones (6'-8.75") in the men's high jump; and the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Isabella Wolford, Kalli Barrett, Nina Zraik, and Nicole Fleming, who finished in 4:16.00.
Other third place performances on Saturday included Nicole Fleming, who finished the 1,500-meter run in 4:47.18, and Sarena Choi, who jumped 17'-4.75" in the long jump.
Kent State will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Oxford on Saturday for the RedHawk Invitational hosted at Miami. The meet is the team's final scheduled meet before the MAC Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
