Kentucky State University, men’s and women’s track and field, competed in the Indianapolis Collegiate Challenge, hosted by the University of Indianapolis on Saturday.
A host of Thorobreds and Thorobrettes turned in solid performances throughout the day. On the men’s side sophomore Adrian Williams-Ralston qualified for the 60-meter dash finals, after clocking in at 7.14 in the preliminary run. The Louisville, Kentucky native improved his prelim time, crossing the finish line in the final heat at 7.08, placing him in 6th place.
In the men’s 200-meter junior’s Silas Greene and Taylor Aymir finished in the top 15 out of more than 50 participants. Aymir competed in the same event at the Ed Temple Classic in Nashville, Tennessee on Jan. 8, accounting for a time of 24.31. With two weeks between events, Aymir improved his time to 23.65.
For the Thorobrettes, freshman Aerial McKay stepped up in the women’s 60-meter dash, registering an 8.19 in her preliminary heat, qualifying for the finals. McKay slightly improved her time to 8.17, finishing in sixth place in the final run. Narrowly missing the cut to be eligible for the final heat was senior Alijah Carpenter as she finished at 8.20.
McKay continued to shine in the women’s 200-meter dash, as she finished fifth overall with a time of 27.08. But it was Junior Carissa Baker who finished fourth overall, beating out McKay at 26.85.
Baker added to her day of top five finishes, edging out several competitors within a second of her in the women’s 400-meter. Her finishing time of 1:01.01 placed her in first place of her heat, and fifth overall.
Sophomore Joy Hearn impressed in the women’s 600-meter with a second place finish accounting for a time of 1:44.79.
Rounding out the day was freshman Kaitlyn Bright. The Louisville, Kentucky native sped through the women’s 60-meter hurdles at 9.49 for a fourth place finish.
KSU will compete on Jan 29. in the KMS Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama.
by Eric Matthews