Track starts outdoor season at USF alumni invitational

Last Friday and Saturday, Troy’s track and field team started its outdoor season. The Trojans competed in the USF Alumni Invitational in Tampa, Florida.  

The Trojans competed against teams from Purdue, Duke and Ohio State, among others. They scored many top ten finishes and personal bests during the competition. 

Starting with the men, Ethan Forbes dominated during his events, running a 1:49.57 during the 800m event and grabbing fifth place overall. Forbes’ time is also the second-best in Trojan history. Forbes ran a 3:51.25 during the 1500m event, bolting past most of the competitors to grab a second-placeoverall finish.  

Following injuries that led him to being absent from the entirety of last season, Jasai Taylor ran the 400m Hurdles event with a blazing 53.36, earning an eighth-place finish in the event.  

During the men’s 5000m event, Gavan Baxley ran a personal best time of 15:29.30. Riley Treadaway won first place overall in the 2000m steeplechase event as well, with a time of 6:21.36. 

Going over to the women, Faith Jones earned a personal best time during the 100m Hurdles event with a time of 13.80 during the prelims. Shanayah Washington ran a time of 11.65m during the 100m event as well, ending the event in eighth place. 

Zoe Smith also grabbed an eighth-place finish for the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:00.07. Rachel Whyte ran a personal best time of 54.77 during the 400m. 

Haley Wilson earned a ninth-place finish during the 800m , clocking a time of 2:11.52. Abigail Carr ran a personal best time of 18:54.93 during the 5000m as well. 

Leaping over to field events, the Trojans had multiple top 10 finishes in their respective events. First, Amir Mersal and Kavon Hill finished in the top 10 during the men’s triple jump , scoring 14.82m and 14.56m respectively. 

During the men’s shot-put event, Darius Sylvester threw the shot at 15.10m, finishing in 10^th place. Derrick Goll also placed 10^th in the men’s hammer throw event, throwing the hammer 56.23m. 

Last but not least, Whitney Clark finished ninth in the women’s javelin throw event, with the javelin being thrown 37.08m. 

The Trojans will return to Florida, but this time in Tallahassee, Florida, for the Terry Long FSU Relays, competing on Mar. 26 and 27.