FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Little Rock men's and women's track and field teams kicked off 2024 at the Arkansas Invitational on Friday, turning in six new school records and five top-5 finishes on the women's side, while the men saw an exact same result on their side: three new marks in the Little Rock recordbooks and five top-5 placers.
Full Results
Women's Results
Alexia Washington took home second place and a new school record in the women's triple jump, finishing with a mark of 12.31m 40-4¾. The freshman smashed the previous mark of 12.27m 40-3 ¼.
Also setting a new school record off the track was
Ragen Hodge in the women's high jump, tying the Little Rock record of 1.70m set in 1996. The sophomore placed sixth in the event while breaking one of the remaining records set before the turn of century.
On the track,
Cayla Anthony recorded the fastest 600m time in program history, clocking in at 1:38.30 to become the first Trojan under 1:39.
Leading a strong group of women in the field events,
Aaliyah Mathis was the sole first-place finisher for the Trojans, winning the shot put with a mark of 14.26m 46-9½, a new personal best for the junior to elevate her second-place standing in the list of Little Rock's top performers. Mathis was joined by senior
Janae Largins and her third-place finish in the event.
Meanwhile,
Layloni Watson and her mark of 5.67m 18-7¼ in the long jump was good for fifth place, as the freshman improved from her result in December to claim the second-best result in Trojan history.
Two more women made their way into the Little Rock top performances list:
Takia Palmer and
Kennedie Rhein. Palmer is now tied for 10
th-best in the 200m race with her time of 25.24, while Rhein clocks in as the third fastest 1000m runner with her 3:06.05.
Men's Results
After setting a new school record in the 60 m hurdles last month,
Matthew Tyeskie lowered his time another four hundredths of a second to further separate himself as the only Trojan to go under the 8-second mark. The freshman qualified for finals with a time of 7.98, shaving off one one-hundredth, then cut more time off in the finals to clock in at 7.95.
Another freshman set a new school record, this time in the men's 600m race.
Devin Stevens claimed the top spot in Little Rock history, crossing the line at 1:21.49 to become the first Trojan under the 1:22 mark.
Joining him in the record books was Nick Newby in the 1000, running a full 10 seconds faster than the previous school record to come in at 2:27.09. Teammate
Andrew Payton was right behind him, finishing at 2:27.37.
The Trojan sprinters continue to shine, as
Gabriel Torres and
TaVieon Neal went 3-4 in the finals of the 60 meter dash. Torres and his time of 6.77 is now the seventh-fastest time in program history, while Neal's 6.79 finish was nine one-hundredths shy of his personal best. Also finishing in the top 5 of his race was
Frankie Grey, taking fourth place in the 200m with a time of 21.59, good for ninth on Little Rock's top performances list.
In the field events,
Ryan Curington led the way with a third-place finish in the men's long jump, recording a mark of 7.29m 23-11. Meanwhile,
Matthew Fox turned in a shot put result that ranks ninth in Little Rock history, finishing at 13.70m 44-11½.
View all Little Rock track and field records and top performances here.
The Trojan men's and women's track teams will continue their record-breaking indoor season on January 26 at the two-day Robert Platt Invitational in Houston, Texas.
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
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