OXFORD, MS – The Men's Track & Field team had a successful day at the Ole Miss Invitational, with several athletes setting personal records and season best performances against some of the best Division I and II schools in the country.
In the 200m dash senior
Cory Dardenne (Kingwood, TX) ran to a season's best time of 23.03, beating out competition from the likes of University of Memphis, University of Central Arkansas and St. Louis University. In the 400m dash, freshman Dan Sutherland (Highland Park, TX) and sophomore
David Thomas (Baton Rouge, LA) both ran excellent races to finish in respective times of 51.29 and 51.66. The 5,000m saw standout performances from junior
Robert McMillan (Signal Mountain, TN) and senior co-captain
Colin Johnson (Aledo, TX). Both ran to personal records, placing sixteenth and nineteenth out of thirty-six competitors in times of 16:06.46 and 16:19.35. Senior
Jeremy Moye (Ooltewah, TN) had the best 110m hurdles race of his collegiate career, crossing the finish line in 16.51 seconds. In the other hurdle race, the 400m hurdles, senior co-captain
Anson Purdy (Wesfield, NJ) ran to a season best time of 55.93. He was followed by freshman Stephen Bailey (Nashville, TN), who established a new personal record of 1:02.24. Junior
Chris Moore (Southlake, TN) placed fifth overall in the 3,000m steeplechase in a time of 9:59.18. In what was probably one of the most exciting races of the day for the Lynx, amid perhaps the most competitive fields, freshman teammates
Chris Hardy (Collierville, TN) and
Tyler Catterton (Memphis, TN) both ran personal bests of 1:55.55 and 1:55.92 to place tenth and fourteenth respectively. In a race in which the top fifteen finishers all crossed the line less than four seconds apart, and only .38 seconds separated the tenth place finisher from the fifteenth, Hardy and Catterton's performances were made all the more impressive, especially since their competition was comprised of Division I and II athletes. Junior
Matt Jacobs (Houston, TX) also had an outstanding race, running a collegiate best time of 1:58.97.
In the relay events, the 4x100m team of sophomore
Kevin Stechler (Westborough, MA), Dardenne, Purdy, and junior
Greg Palm (Merrimack, NH) ran to their best time of the season to finish in 43.17. The 4x400m relay saw Rhodes field two squads, with the team of Thomas, Sutherland, Dardenne, and Purdy running to an impressive 3:23.52. The second team consisting of Catterton, freshman
Josh Blount (Austin, TX), Jacobs, and sophomore Dan Wolfe (Newton, MA) also ran well, finishing in 3:32.00.
In the field events, junior Griffin Salzer (Beaufort, SC) threw a huge personal best in the javelin with a distance of 156'5” (47.68m) to place fourteenth amid a very competitive field. In the shot put junior
Andrew Maryott (East Dennis, MA) placed fifteenth with a heave of 43'7.75” (13.30m) and in the discus he was eighteenth, finishing with a best throw of 147'10” (45.07m).
It was an excellent meet for the Lynx; against some of the best athletes in collegiate Track & Field they held their own and competed their way to many outstanding performances. The next competition will take place at city rival the University of Memphis on Saturday April 17th.
RESULTS
