Matthew Fox Smashes OVC Record, Josh Beam Also Claims Gold on Second Day of OVC Championships

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Hailing from the bi-lingual nation of Canada, Matthew Fox knows the term "fait accompli" quite well. On Friday at the Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championships, he put it to good use.
 
Holding a commanding lead in the decathlon, Fox had already broken his personal and school record marks in the 10-event competition as he entered the final part of the competition. Just over five minutes later, he smashed the OVC record as well. Fox ran 5:04.03 in the 1,500m run to accumulate a new OVC record 7,156 points and claiming the first of two gold medals that would bookend the day for Little Rock.
 
On the opposite end of the second day of competition, Josh Beam held a comfortable lead from start to finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, running 9:11.04 to claim gold as well. Aaron Soltmann ran 9:35.27 to finish fourth as the pair totaled 15 team points for the Trojans. Lindsey Hutcheson ran 11:44.71 to finish sixth in the women's race.
 
Those results, along with upsets from the entire field along the way, gives Little Rock 54 points and a second-place position in the team standings entering Saturday's final day of competition. Trailing Southeast Missouri by 70 points, the Trojans are poised to add plenty more to the board following Friday's prelims performances. On the women's side, the competition is closer with Southeast Missouri's 87 points leading the way but Little Rock's 53 points close behind.
 
For the Trojans, speed continued to dominate as Little Rock qualified four sprinters – half the finals field – into Saturday's 100m dash finals for both the men's and women's races. Troy McKnight led the field by matching his career-best 10.32 time while TaVieon Neal ran 10.33. Cogan DeRousselle (10.53) and Frankie Grey (10.65) both advanced as well.
 
On the women's side, Landri Schreier (11.85), Gabby Ayiteyfio (11.90), Takia Palmer (11.95) and Maliyah Holland (12.01) finished 3-4-5-6 as the quartet all advanced to Saturday's finals.
 
That wrapped up a busy day for Ayiteyfio, who had already registered a bronze medal finish in the long jump with a leap of 19-1.5 (5.83m), posting the third-best mark in school history. Jaelyn Tucker followed in fifth, jumping 18-10.75 (5.76m) as the two combined for 10 points.
 
Ayiteyfio wasn't the only one with a busy day. DeRousselle, who's 10.53 time in the 100m marked a second finals advancement (he already advanced in the 200m during Thursday's prelims), also clocked 14.37 in the 110m hurdles to post the third-best time in school history. In between her 100m dash and long jump performances, Ayiteyfio clocked a personal best 14.34 in the 100m hurdles to advance to Saturday's finals as well.
 
Ryan Curington matched Ayiteyfio's bronze medal performance in the long jump with a season-best leap of 24-10.75 (7.59m) to finish third. That mark moves him up from the bubble for the NCAA West Prelims to into contention for a third-straight NCAA postseason bid.
 
Isaiah Parker scored for the Trojans for the second time this week with a seventh-place finish in the hammer, throwing 177-2 (54.00m). That marks the second-best throw in school history.
 
Nicholas Newby and Andrew Payton both coasted to qualifying marks in the 800m prelims and the duo can be found in two finals races Saturday, in the 800m and 1,500m.
 
Juan Garza (48.36) and Teylen Patterson (49.09) both posted personal-best times to move to Saturday's 400m finals, as did Zoa Adams (56.83) on the women's side.
 
Little Rock looks to overtake Southeast Missouri in Saturday's action-packed final day of competition. Field events start at 11 a.m. with track events getting 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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