Kent State University
Joe May Invitational
Ba’s Victory Paces Kent State at Joe May Invite
4/9/2022 9:37:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
BATON ROUGE, La. – Baidy Ba was the first athlete across the finish line in the men's 1500-meter run on Saturday as the Kent State track and field program posted 22 top-five finishes at the Joe May Invitational inside LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
Ba won the 1500m for the second week in a row, finishing in a time of 3:48.06 that moves him ahead of teammate Drew Johnson for ninth on the Golden Flashes' all-time performance list. Johnson recorded a 3:51.13 on Saturday to finish third.
Grace Tennant posted season-best marks to place second in the women's discus throw and javelin throw. In the meet's opening event, Tennant launched the discus 172'-8" on her second attempt of the competition. Her first javelin attempt in the afternoon soared 146'-1" and was the furthest by a collegiate competitor on the day. Tennant added a fourth place showing in the shot put with a mark of 50'-1.75".
Kent State throwers had six additional top-five performances. Gabby Bailey was runner-up in the women's shot put with a season-best throw of 53'-2.75" and Aliesha Shaw placed third in the women's discus with a season-best mark of 164'-3". Marissa Henley added a seventh-place finish in a loaded women's hammer throw field. Henley's personal-best mark of 184'-3" puts her at No. 8 in Flashes history.
Jake Wickey led Kent State on the men's side with his best marks of the season in the hammer throw and discus. Wickey had a monster toss of 216'-5" to finish third in the hammer and added a throw of 158'-4" in the discus for fourth place. Jeff Neuhaus was right behind in fifth with a discus throw of 151'-10". Scott Benco and Bradley Heck placed third and fifth, respectively, in the men's javelin throw. Benco had a top mark of 212'-6" and Heck's best throw went 192'-10".
Alexandre Malanda finished second in the men's triple jump. Malanda's top mark of 49'-8.25" was the best among collegiate athletes. Anthony Milliner recorded a season-best jump of 48'-10.25" to place third. In the women's triple jump, Jayda Singleton took fourth with a season-best mark of 39'-0.25".
Leah Pasqualetti tied for third in the women's pole vault and cleared 13'-1.75" on her first attempt. Lillie Franks (5'-7") and Jack McElligott (6'-7") rounded out the top performances for the jumps group with fifth-place finishes in the high jump.
Three Flashes finished fifth in running events. Mi'Angel Daniels ran a season-best 13.94 second in the women's 100-meter hurdles, while Alexandria Verbancic recorded a personal-best in the women's 400-meter hurdles (1:02.13) and Trey Double ran a personal-best in the men's 800-meter run (1:53.11).
The men's 4x100 meter relay team of Mondo Colome, Asa Hodrick, Korie Davis II and Jaheim Jones finished in 40.51 seconds, the fastest time in the Mid-American Conference this season.
Kent State will continue the outdoor season at the Tiffin Track Carnival on Friday, April 15.
Players Mentioned
