NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Jax State track and field program achieved multiple accolades and put on a show at the Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt on Friday and Saturday, stacking up 19 personal bests and 14 new program top tens, including a trio of new school records at the meet.
"We saw some outstanding performances across the board this weekend," head coach
Jeremy Provence said. "As a group, we're building momentum at exactly the right time in this season. Confidence is rising, and we're trending in a very positive direction as we prepare for the CUSA Championship meet."
The first record shattered for Jax State on day one of competition was
Viola Jepleting who broke her previous school record in the one mile that she set two weeks ago. The freshman ran her mile in 4:50.26 and finished in 15
th place out of 116 total competitors. Jepleting also competed in the unseeded 800m on Saturday, in which she finished in second with a time of 2:11.72 which is the second fastest mark in school history.
Following Jepleting's performance a little later in the evening was Faith Kurgoi who broke the school record in the 5000m by over 12 seconds. Kurgoi completed her record-breaking run in 17:22.99.
"Faith executed her race plan with poise and discipline in the 5K," Provence said. "Setting a school record in her debut is an incredible accomplishment. A huge congratulations on her part to a memorable performance."
Lastly for Jax State, was the lone record breaker on Saturday. Breaking her previous school record as well, Claudia Marquez set a new team best in the 800m, finishing with a 2:10.25 time.
"I'm incredibly proud of our 800-meter group," Provence said. "To produce the top two performances in school history at the same meet is special. Claudia and Viola compliment each other so well in training and it's exciting to see the continued growth and maturity from these two freshmen."
The Gamecocks saw a variety of impressive performances throughout the weekend aside from the school records as well.
Amiyah Johnson had her best outing of this season in the 60m dash, placing in the top five in the first two rounds of the event, with times of 7.52 seconds and 7.49 seconds, respectively. Johnson's second run becomes the third fastest time in school history and gives her a new personal best. The sophomore reached the final round of the 60m in which she placed sixth with a time of 7.57 seconds.
"Amiyah delivered a tremendous performance, improving her personal best by a significant margin," Provence said. "Advancing to the finals at a meet of this caliber is a major achievement. With today's result, she's firmly established herself as one of the top sprinters to watch heading into the conference championship."
The Gamecocks saw even more success out of their sprint and mid-distance crew, with a trio of top ten finishes in the athletes' respective events.
The first of which was Marquez's eighth place finish in the 600m, with a time of 1:33.73. Following her was the duo of
Amber Bailey and
Emma Drinkard in the 400m on Saturday. Bailey tallied a sixth-place finish with a 55.56 second time and Drinkard placed ninth with a 56.01 second mark.
Jax State had some added success in the field as well, highlighted by
Jadyn Bonds' ninth place finish in the high jump, achieving a distance of 1.59m (5-2.50). On Saturday,
Theresa Lukas totaled a distance of 11.46m (37-7.25) in the triple jump which is the eighth longest distance in school history.
The Gamecocks had seven members of the men's team compete in Nashville, all of which participated in the 3000m. Mark Roper came away with the best performance of the group, taking a first-place finish in the event with a time of 8:17.69 which was enough to beat 65 other competitors.
Jax State will have a week off before wrapping up the indoor season at the Conference USA Championship meet in two weeks, hosted by Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. The two-day event begins on Friday, Feb. 27 and concludes on Feb. 28.
