Andrew Payton Wins 1,500m, Barely Misses School Record Friday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. and JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Little Rock junior Andrew Payton raced to a win in the 1,500m Friday, missing a school record by a mere nine-hundredths of a second, as the final weekend of action in regular season competition got underway Friday.
 
The Trojans, competing at the Memphis Invitational and the East Coast Relays, were led by Payton's win and 3:46.59 time in Memphis in the 1,500m run, a time that leads the Ohio Valley Conference by nearly a full second. Only Aaron Batey's time of 3:46.50 back in 2009 has been faster in school history.
 
Meanwhile over in Jacksonville, freshman Tyler Moore raced to an OVC-leading 53.02 time in the 400m hurdles, posting the second-fastest mark in school history. That time, which placed him eighth in the competitive East Coast Relays, shaved over 0.2 seconds off his previous best time of 53.23 from the Little Rock Invitational on Apr. 7.
 
Speed reigned supreme in Jacksonville as Troy McKnight ran a wind-legal time of 21.16 in the 200m, another OVC-leading mark and a time ranking tied for eighth in school history, while Cogan DeRousselle ran 21.32 as he moves just outside of the top-10 list at Little Rock, currently ranking 11^th.
 
On the women's side, Takia Palmer clocked a wind-aided time of 24.28 to finish 22^nd while Landri Schreier closely followed in 23^rd, running 24.37. That makes Palmer's time the third-fastest of all marks in the OVC this season. Maliyah Holland ran a career-best time of 24.75, placing 34^th.
 
In the field events, Ryan Curington matched a season-best long jump mark with a leap of 24-6.25 (7.457m) to finish seventh.
 
Back in Memphis, Isaiah Parker and Casey Griffin matched each other with the fourth-best hammer throws in school history, posting equal 174-2 (53.09m) marks on the day. Hayden Wilson threw the hammer 126-4 (38.52m), posting the eighth-best throw in school history.
 
In the pole vault, Sutton Manatt cleared 14-4.5 (4.38m) to place sixth and register the sixth-best mark in school history. On the women's side, Ludovica Polini cleared 11-6.5 (3.52m) to finish eighth while Lauren Hurrell finished tied for 10^th, clearing 10-0.75 (3.07m). Polini also jumped 17-6.75 (5.35m) in the long jump to place sixth while Kendall King finished ninth, jumping 17-0 (5.18m).
 
Action continues in Memphis and Jacksonville Saturday morning with both meets getting underway with field events at 10 a.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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