BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The Tulane indoor track and field team demonstrated an impressive performance on the track in the Samford Invitational on Friday, winning three events while also breaking one meet record and totaling 14 top-five results.
"Our team definitely improved this week; we had a handful of excellent performances," head coach Eric Peterson said. "Trina [Malej] was very good in both the triple jump and the long jump. For the second week in a row, Maren [Butler] set a new personal record in the shot put and continues to compete really well. Kyah [Loyd] and Brandi [Hughes] took the top two places in the 60-meter hurdles and our group of athletes in the 400-meter, led by Maya [Harewood], completely dominated the field. We will remain committed to hard work and consistent improvement. Now, we set our sights on a tough two-week training block and our next competition at Houston."
Trina Malej broke a meet record with a distance of 12.52 meters (41-1.00) in the triple jump, finishing first while recording a new career-high to beat out her previous best distance of 12.49 meters (40-9.75). The sophomore also earned a new personal best in the long jump with a distance of 5.62 meters (18-5.25), good for a second-place finish.
With a distance of 14.18 meters in the shot put, freshman Maren Butler moves up one spot in the Tulane record books and now stands in third in school history. Butler's 14.18 meter (46-6.25) mark landed her a fourth-place spot among 13 competitors in Friday's meet.
Continuing with their impressive performances in the 60-meter hurdles this season was junior Kyah Loyd and senior Brandi Hughes. The duo took the one and two spots in the race, as Loyd ran to victory with a time of 8.58 seconds and Hughes followed right behind at 8.68 seconds.
The Green Wave dominated the 400-meter dash, as four Tulane student-athletes earned four of the top five positions. Senior Maya Harewood led the way for the Olive and Blue, winning the race with a time of 56.36 seconds. Sophomores Hunter Robinson and Louise Jones took the number two and three spots with new career-best times of 56.62 and 57.56 seconds, while Oneke Gwan came in fifth at 58.49 seconds.
Junior Asja Thompson and graduate student Jessica Duckett rounded out the top 10 performers in the 400-meter, placing in seventh and eighth with times of 59.23 and 59.44 seconds.
Earning top-five finishes in the pole vault was junior Kristina Leggas and sophomore Nastja Modic. Leggas, who recorded a new personal best with a height of 3.80 meters (12-5.50) and tied the 10th best all-time mark in program history, landed in third while Modic landed in fourth at 3.65 meters (11-11.75).
After running in the 400-meter, Robinson was quick to come around the track in the 200-meter dash as well, earning a time of 24.99 seconds to finish in second place among 26 total opponents.
Next up for the Green Wave in the race was Harewood and sophomore Aldrianna Dupree, who stood in seventh and eighth overall with respective times of 25.38 and 25.44 seconds. Dupree also placed sixth overall in the 60-meter dash, recording a time of 7.77 seconds in the finals after finishing first in her preliminary heat with a 7.75 second mark.
Thompson, Gwan, junior Pauline Helm and senior Paige Fatland also ran the 200-meter dash, finishing in 11th, 12th, 22nd and 25th with times of 25.67, 25.67, 27.65 and 29.79 seconds, respectively. Thompson and Helm's times are the best each of them have run during their time at Tulane.
Sophomore Olivia Hicks tied her career-best height in the high jump, finishing in third in the meet at 1.65 meters (5-5.00). Continuing with the field events was Junior Jordyn Lesh, who recorded a 10.50 meter distance in her final jump of the day to finish in ninth in the triple jump, while junior Danielle Wember checked in at seventh overall with a long jump of 5.25 meters (17-2.75) on the day.
Wrapping up the day for Tulane was Hughes, Loyd, Duckett and Jones in the 4x400 meter relay, as the team cruised to a third place finish with a time of 3:52.03.
Helm and Fatland kicked off the distance events in the 800-meter as each recorded top 10 finishes. Helm crossed the finish line with a new career-best time of 2:20.60 for an eighth-place mark and was followed by Fatland in 10th at 2:25.92.
Representing the Green Wave in the mile was junior Bridgid Selfors and senior Mary Catherine Stovall. Selfors was just a few seconds away from recording a new personal best (5:17.85) with a time of 5:20.40 to stand in 23rd while Stovall was right behind her, with a time of 5:30.10 to finish in 26th.
Selfors and Stovall also ran in the 3000-meter, ending in sixth- and 16th-place, respectively, with times of 10:22.52 and 10:49.52.
The Olive and Blue are set to have next weekend off before heading to Houston from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 to compete in the Houston P5 and Mid-Major Invitational.
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