Track and field finishes up indoor season

The Troy track and field team concluded its regular indoor season at the Samford Invitational, and several Trojans set new personal bests during the weekend.

Troy took on Sun Belt rivals ULM, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State and UALR.  The events for Friday, Feb. 13, were the men’s and women’s high jump and 200-meter dash.

Competing against 65 others, freshman Sydney Wright placed ninth in the 200-meter dash, and set a new personal best time of 24.99 seconds. Also participating in the 200-meter dash were junior Cameia Alexander, who finished in 25.86 seconds, and sophomore Sierra King, who crossed the line in 26.44 seconds.

In the men’s 200-meter dash, sophomore Cameron Rice set a personal best, finishing in 22.57 seconds.

Senior Ben Martin competed in his first meet of the season on Saturday, Feb. 14 in the men’s 60-meter dash. Martin is known for ending his 2014 season ranked first in the Sun Belt for the men’s 100-meter dash.

Martin qualified for the 60-meter finals in 6.88 seconds. He placed third in the event, and shaved his time down to 6.85 seconds, setting a new personal record.

On Saturday, senior Paige McMillian, freshman Aubrey West, and Wright all participated in the women’s 60-meter dash. Wright came in ninth place, finishing just one place short of qualifying for the finals. She finished the dash in 7.78 seconds. McMillian and West finished in 7.79 seconds and 7.99 seconds, respectively. They both set new personal records with those times.

Freshman Niata Alexander finished in fourth place during the women’s 400-meter dash. Alexander’s time was 55.94 seconds, a new record for her, and places her second in the Sun Belt standings in the event.

In the field events, junior Myles Charley took home third place, after making a 14.80-meter jump in the men’s triple jump. Teammate and junior thrower Zach Douglas threw a 15.39-meter toss and placed eighth in the men’s shot put.

At his first collegiate meet, freshman C.J. Phillips was seventh place in the men’s pole vault.

Senior Alexus Cobbs placed tenth in the women’s triple jump with an 11.56-meter leap. She also finished 14th in the long jump event.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team brought home a third-place finish with a time of 3:19.56, while the women’s team crossed the finish line at 3:56.16, placing in eighth.

Next up for the Trojans is the Sun Belt Indoor Championship that will take place on Monday, Feb. 23, and Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Birmingham. After that, Troy will travel to Mobile for the Jaguar Opener on March 7.