Gabby Ayiteyfio Breaks School Record in 60m on First Day of OVC Indoor Championships

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gabby Ayiteyfio set a new school record in the 60m dash, Sutton Manatt medaled in the pole vault and the men's 60m dash can be considered the Little Rock Invitational as action wrapped up on the first day of the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.
 
After five scored events on the first day of the two-day meet, both the Little Rock men and women sit in fourth place with several Trojans advancing to Thursday's finals.
 
Ayiteyfio, considered to be the busiest woman in Birmingham, clocked a blistering 7.52 in the 60m dash as she posted the fastest time in the prelims to advance to Thursday's finals. That adds to her busy Thursday as she also advanced in the 60m hurdles after running 8.76 in the prelims, clocking the second-fastest time in the hurdle prelims. The 60m dash and 60m hurdles prelims are set for Thursday afternoon, after Ayiteyfio competes in the five-event pentathlon in the morning.
 
Freshman Sutton Manatt, competing in his first conference championship meet, reached the podium in the pole vault as he claimed a bronze medal. Manatt cleared 15-1 (4.60m) in the pole vault to place third and score six points while recording the second-best mark in school history. The Trojans totaled 10 points in the pole vault overall as Ethan Sorrels tied for third as he cleared 14-7.25 (4.45m), scoring four points.
 
The stage was set for a Trojan showdown in the men's 60m dash finals as Little Rock had an incredible four sprinters advance to Thursday's finals round. Troy McKnight led the crew – and the entire field – as he ran 6.74 while Taveion Neal finished second in the prelims, running 6.78. Cameron Jackson clocked a smooth 6.83 while Cogan DeRousselle ran 6.91 as all four will make up one-half of the eight sprinter finals field. DeRousselle also advanced in the 60m hurdles after posting a prelims-best time of 8.14.
 
McKnight also posted the fastest time in the 200m prelims, running 21.48, as he set the sixth-fastest time in school history. He will be joined in Thursday's finals by Jackson, who unsurprisingly advanced as well by running 21.86.
 
Little Rock advanced two runners in a pair of other events as Nicholas Newby and Andrew Payton advanced in the 800m while Juan Garza and Frankie Grey advanced in the 400m.
 
While the sprinters were advancing, several others were scoring. Zach McPhee finished sixth in the 5K with a time of 14:41.58 while Josh Beam ran 14:50.43 to place eight. The duo combined for four team points.
 
Ryan Curington scored a total of 4.25 points on the day as he placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 23-10.5 (7.28m) while anchoring the distance medley relay team that finished eighth with a time of 10:58.61.
 
On the women's side Bria Allen recorded the sixth-best long jump mark in school history as she jumped 18-1.25 (5.52m) to place fifth.
 
Little Rock had three jumpers score in the women's high jump as Jayden Gilbert led the trio by clearing 5-3 (1.60m) to finish fourth while Ragen Hodge finished fifth, also clearing 5-3 (1.60m). Brenna Harris snagged 0.5 points for the Trojans as she finished tied for eighth, clearing 5-1 (1.55m).
 
Landri Schreier set herself up for a busy Thursday as she advanced in both the 60m and 200m dashes. In the 60m, Schreier placed third overall with a time of 7.62 while she ran the second-best 200m time in school history, clocking 24.53.
 
Matlida Horton scored three points for Little Rock as she ran 18:21.30 in the 5K to finish sixth while the quartet of Ariana Garcia, Keila Finnestad, Kyla Lochtefeld and Lindsey Hutcheson ran 12:42.42 in the distance medley relay to finish sixth.
 
In the weight throw, Allison Stigarll registered the second-best throw in school history as she placed sixth with a throw of 53-9 (16.38m).
 
Entering Thursday's finals action, the Trojan men have 20 points while the women's team has 22.5 points and both are in striking distance of a trophy. Multis on Thursday begin at 9 a.m., field events start at 11 a.m. and track events will get underway at 12:30 p.m.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Track & Field, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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