Andrew Payton Posts Little Rock’s Fastest 1,500m Since 2009 at Mt. SAC Relays

WALNUT, Calif. and NORMAN, Okla. – Andrew Payton raced to a fourth-place finish in the 1,500m and the fastest Trojan time in the event since 2009 as action continued at the Mt. SAC Relays on Friday. Meanwhile in Oklahoma, Gabby Ayiteyfio used three career-high marks to put her on pace to break the Little Rock heptathlon record.
 

In the men's 1,500m, Andrew Payton ran 3:48.91 and:

✅ Ran the 5th-fastest time in school history
✅ Topped his PR by over 5 seconds
✅ Tied the highest finish ever for #LittleRocksTeam at the Mt. SAC Relays
✅ Beat the AAC's indoor 800m champion
✅ Now leads the @OVCSports pic.twitter.com/HSzvrYTtg0

— Little Rock TF/XC (@LittleRockTFXC) April 15, 2023

 
Posting the fifth-best 1,500m time in school history, Payton clocked an Ohio Valley Conference-leading time of 3:48.91 to finish fourth in the race. By finishing fourth in the event, Payton tied the best finish ever recorded by a Little Rock athlete at the Mt. SAC Relays, matching the fourth-place finish Demond Burns registered by running 20.77 in the 200m dash in 2012. He beat the American Athletic Conference's indoor 800m champion by over a second. Also in the 1,500m, Nicholas Newby raced to a 3:54.25 time to finish 25^th.
 

Little Rock's @gabbyayiteyfio completes the first day of the heptathlon at the Sooner Invite & Multis just 47 points behind OU's Pippi Lotta Enok, the pentathlon 🥉 from this year's NCAA Indoor Championships.

📊 https://t.co/0APUEbnZCg#LittleRocksTeam pic.twitter.com/aoNbCSEBsC

— Little Rock TF/XC (@LittleRockTFXC) April 14, 2023

 
Over in Norman, Oklahoma at the Sooner Invite and Multis, Gabby Ayiteyfio was on fire in the first half of the heptathlon with three personal records in the first four events with the fourth event career-best mark negated by a wind-aided time. Scoring 3,247 points through four events, Ayiteyfio is in second place overall and just 47 behinds behind Oklahoma's Pippi Lotta Enok, the pentathlon bronze medalist from this year's NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Ayiteyfio ran a wind-aided time of 14.44 in the 100m hurdles then followed that up by matching her career-best high jump mark of 5-5 (1.65m). She posted a huge personal best shot put throw of 39-9.75 (12.13m) – topping her previous best mark by over six feet – before running a personal best 24.67 in the 200m dash. On the men's side, Matthew Fox was on a hot streak before withdrawing due to a hamstring injury.
 
On Saturday, Ayiteyfio will look to break the school's heptathlon record of 4,537 points with three events still left to be competed. In California, Newby will race in the 800m invitational elite race at 8:35 p.m. CT while Johnathan Jones will compete in the high jump invitational elite competition at 5:15 p.m. CT.
 
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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