Western Kentucky University Track and Field opened its outdoor season with a strong showing at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Track and Field Complex. WKU finished the competition Saturday afternoon with a total of three event titles and 20 top-10 finishes.
Six Hilltoppers walked away with first place finishes today as Desmond Mobley, Chard Muhwanga and the 4×400-meter relay team earned high marks in their respective events. In the long jump, Mobley posted a 7.49 meters mark, outjumping his nearest opponent by half a meter. Muhwanga threw 49.03 meters in the discus event to earn first. The 4×400-meter team, consisting of Charles Shimukowa, Kymari Gates, Denzel Villaman and Austin Hayes, clocked a 3:11.89 to receive first.
Thirteen of WKU’s top-10 finishes came from the men’s squad over the course of the two days. In the 200-meter, Austin Hayes (21.42), Kymari Gates (21.52) and Oliver Alexandre (21.62) finished second, third and fourth, respectively. The Hilltoppers earned two second place finishes in hurdles events with Jonathan Hayden posting a 14.26 in the 110-meter and Denzel Villaman notching a 53.55 in the 400-meter.
Graduate student Charles Shimukowa placed eighth in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:55.48. The 4×100-meter team ran a 41.08, good for a third-place finish while WKU’s second 4×400-meter relay team finished second, notching a time of 3:14.20. Mobley also tied for fourth in high jump clearing 1.95 meters and Alec Tanksley earned fourth in long jump with a length of 6.82 meters.
The Lady Topper squad completed the weekend with seven top-10 finishes across track and field events. Ariel Terrell posted the highest finish of the invitational for the Lady Toppers with second place in the 400-meter hurdles and a time of 1:00.81. Terrell was just over a tenth of a second off from cracking the top five program bests in that event. In the 200-meter sprint, Juannae Lewis (24.74) placed fifth while the 4×400-meter relay team finished third, clocking a 3:54.63.
In pole vault, Nicole Ogorek (3.55 meters) finished eighth and Getter Lemberg (3.55 meters) placed ninth. In javelin, two Lady Toppers placed in the top-10: Kira Harman (36.70 meters) in third and Adarian Gray (33.98 meters) in seventh.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)