Payton sets meet record, Trojans earn several top finishes at opening meet

PITTSBURG, Kansas — The Little Rock Track & Field program opened the 2024-25 indoor season Saturday, bringing home several top finishes during the Crimson and Gold Invitational, hosted by Pittsburg State University.
 

"It was exciting to see most of the team back on the oval this weekend," Little Rock head coach JP Behnke said. "We don't approach this early meet as a rust-buster, rather, we expect to compete at a very high level. The team accepted the challenge and we saw multiple personal bests and several first-place finishes."

 
Senior Andrew Payton headlined the top Trojan finishes, setting a new meet record in the men's one-mile run with a time of 4:05.04. Teammate Nick Newby finished second in the event, crossing the finish line at 4:09.60.
 
Little Rock also swept the medal stand in the men's 60-meter dash, with TaVieon Neal, Cameron Jackson, and Gabriel Torres finishing first thru third, respectively. Neal turned in a tome of 6.69 seconds, Jackson crossed at 6.71 and Torres was just a tick behind at 6.72.
 
In the women's triple jump, Alexia Washington and Layloni Watson took gold and silver, respectively. Washington won the event with a best jump of 12.54 meters, while Watson was not far behind at 12.29.
 
Torres and Jackson finished second and third in the men's 200-meter dash as Torres clocked a 21.62 with Jackson finishing in 21.67.
 
Devin Stevens won the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.70, and Deshawn Roberts finished third in the men's high jump with a height of 2.09 meters.
 
For complete meet results, CLICK HERE.
 
Little Rock's next competition is scheduled for Friday, January 17 at the Arkansas Invite in Fayetteville.