Track and Field Kicks Off 2016 at the UK Invitational This Weekend

Friday, January 15

Lexington, Ky.

All Day

University of Louisville

UK Invite

Track and Field Kicks Off 2016 at the UK Invitational This Weekend

January 14, 2016 | Track & Field

Cardinals will compete for two days at the UK Invitational

By: Kim Pemberton

Event: UK Invitational
Date: January 15-16, 2016
Site: Nutter Field House | Lexington, Ky.
Start Times: 4 p.m. EST Friday | 9 a.m. EST Saturday

This Week: The Louisville men's and women's track and field teams kick off 2016 with a two-day indoor event this weekend in Lexington, Ky. for the UK Invitational. Field events are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET with the women's weight throw followed by the men's weight throw. Running events are slated to start at 7 p.m. ET with the women's distance medley relay followed by the men's distance medley relay inside Nutter Field House.

The meet continues on Saturday with field events beginning at 9 a.m. ET with the women's and men's high jump and the running events slated to start at 12 p.m. ET with the women's 60m hurdles semi-finals.

Impressive Opening Weekend: The Cardinals opened their indoor track season by registering six victories at the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener in early December. The women picked up four wins while the men picked up two. Dolly Nyemah, Emmonnie Henderson, Raven Grant, and Benadate Cheruiyot led the women with victories while Steve Wade and Edwin Kibichiy took first-place finishes on the men's side. Cheruiyot led the women's distance runners with a time of 9:48.24 en route to a victory in the 3000m run.

Strong Throws Land Victories: Of the six victories by the Cardinals in their season opener, half of them came from the throws group. Dolly Nyemah picked up the first Cardinal win of the meet with a mark of 19.74m/64-9.25 to win the weight throw. Junior Emmonnie Henderson made her indoor debut with a mark of 16.18m/53-1 to win the shot put. Senior Steve Wade threw a mark of 17.16m/56-3.75 to help the Cardinals sweep the shot put events.

Continued Success: Coming off a successful cross country season in which the men won its first NCAA Southeast Regional in program history, the men's distance runners continued to shine. Louisville took the top four spots of the men's 5000m at the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener with Edwin Kibichiy cruising to a first-place finish with a time of 14:07.40. Ernest Kibet finished second in 14:21.15 and was followed by Japhet Kipkoech and Calvin Chemoiywo, who finished third and fourth, respectively.

Immediate Impact: Freshman Raven Grant competed in her first collegiate meet at the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener and immediately made an impact. The Conway, S.C., native kicked off her collegiate career with a victory in the 200m with a 24.29 finish. Later in the night, Grant finished second in the 60m with a time of 7.55, only .04 seconds off the leader.

FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville cross country and track and field on Twitter (@uofltrackxc) at www.twitter.com/uofltrackxc and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/uofltrackxc.