Kent State University
Virginia Challenge
Baidy Ba Resets Kent State Men’s 5K Record at Virginia Challenge
4/18/2026 9:45:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Fifth-year Baidy Ba posted a personal-best time of 13:47.76 in the men's 5,000-meter run during competition at the Virginia Challenge, breaking his own Kent State record set just three weeks ago.
Ba finished 10th in the race, and his time will put him in good position to qualify for the NCAA East Regional meet.
A trio of Golden Flashes placed second in their events. Beau Harkelroad ran a personal-best of 51.81 seconds in the men's 400-meter hurdles, which is the fourth fastest time in program history. Kristen Jay recorded a new javelin PR for the third time in as many meets with a throw of 166'-2" and remains sixth on Kent State's all-time performance list. Grace Adegoke matched her personal-best in the women's high jump by clearing 5'-7.75".
Casey Musgrave clocked a PR of 54.04 seconds to place fifth in the women's 400-meter dash. Musgrave's time is the sixth fastest in program history. Amryne Chilton was close behind and ran a season-best of 54.68 seconds to finish eighth.
Payton Shippee and Donovan Crawford added top-10 finishes in throwing events. Shippee placed sixth in the men's javelin with a heave of 200'-4" and Crawford took ninth in the men's discus with a season-best mark of 168'-5".
The Flashes will send athletes to two meets next weekend. The majority of the team will compete at the University of Louisville's Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational on April 23-25, while a group of throwers will head to the Ashland Alumni Open on April 24-25.
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![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)
