Track and Field Heads to the Memphis Invite This Weekend

Track and Field Heads to the Memphis Invite This Weekend

April 28, 2016 | Track & Field

Cardinals to travel to Memphis this weekend to compete

Event: Memphis Invitational
Date: April 29-30, 2016
Site: University of Memphis Track Complex | Memphis, Tenn.
Start Times: 3 p.m. Friday | 10 a.m. Saturday

This Week: The Louisville men's and women's track and field teams continue their outdoor season as they travel to Memphis, Tenn., for the Memphis Invitational this weekend.

Competition will begin on Friday afternoon with the men's hammer throw scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. followed by the women's hammer throw. The women's 5000m is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with the men's 5000m following.

The majority of the competition comes on Saturday with field events scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and running events slated to begin at 12 p.m. with the 4x100m relay events.

Up Next: Next weekend, the Cardinals will compete in their final competition before the ACC Championships as they compete in the Rankin/Poehelin 4-Way Invite in West Lafayette, Ind.

MULTI-EVENT ATHLETES SHINE
At the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational, athletes that specialized in multi-events were able to display their talents in a variety of events. In the men's decathlon, Eric Fox set a new school record with 7,032 points while winning six of the 10 events. Freshman Cody Swabek finished third with 6,231 points. In the women's heptathlon, Holly Hankenson set a new school record with 5,333 points and Linda Mutter finished second with 5,133 points.

CONTINUED SUCCESS
In their final home meet of the season, the Cardinals posted 11 wins at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational at Cardinal Park. Darrius Lopez led off the weekend with a win in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 6.59m/198-09. Louisville swept both discus events with Codie Hamsley and Emmonnie Henderson posting victories. The Cardinal distance runners had a strong weekend as they swept both 1500m and 3000m events. Kelsey Cramsey led the field in the 1500m and Edwin Kibichiy set a new meet record in his win in the event. In the 3000m, Lydia Mato and Ernest Kibet both set Cardinal Park records with their first place times. Halee Hudson won the women's javelin throw and both Eric Fox (decathlon) and Holly Hankenson (heptathlon) won their multi-events. The women's 4x100 relay team of Sydney Hill, La'Bianca Frazier, Kayla Tyson, and Bre'Yana Wash won the event in 3:48.12.

SEVEN EARN ALL-ACC ACADEMIC HONORS
ACC Commissioner John Swofford announced that seven Cardinals were named to the Indoor Track and Field All-ACC Academic Team. Senior Edwin Kibichiy was the lone representative on the men's academic team while Kelsey Cramsey, Raven Grant, Holly Hankenson, Chanel Krause, Dolly Nyemah, and Bre'Yana Wash were named to the women's academic team. Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

FRESHMAN PROWESS
In her first season with the Cardinals, Raven Grant has put her speed on display. After a strong indoor season, the Conway, S.C. native has continued to impress. At the Louisville Invitational, Grant set a school record in the 100m with a time of 11.46 breaking the previous record of 11.48 that was set in 2013 by Margaret Harris. Her time of 11.46 is the top time in the ACC in the event. Grant followed the record breaking performance with a third place finish in the 200m. The freshman already has three individual victories and also has been a part of two 4x100m relay victories this season.

STRONG SHOWING AT LOUISVILLE INVITATIONAL
At the first home meet of the season, the Cardinals displayed a strong performance as there were 10 individual wins plus a relay victory at the Louisville Invitational. Freshman Raven Grant continued to have an impressive freshman campaign as she set a school record in her 100m victory. Emmonnie Henderson won both the shot put and the discus and her throw in the shot put is currently ranked 12th in the nation. Edwin Kibichiy competed in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time this season and won the event displaying the ninth best time in the event in the nation. Martice Moore (110m hurdles) and Alexis Murry (400m hurdles) led the Cardinals in the hurdle events while Japhet Kipkoech (5000m) and Claire Noser (3000m steeplechase) paced the Cardinal distance runners. In the jumps, Kaleb Rowepicked up a victory in the triple jump while Bre'Yana Wash picked up her three outdoor victory in the long jump. The women's 4x100 relay team of Murry, Kayla Tyson, Wash, and Grant won the event with a time of 45.39.

SETTING NEW RECORDS
At the Florida Relays, two school records were broken to highlight the Cardinals' performance at the meet. In the preliminaries, the men's 4x400m relay team of Martice Moore, Jeron Brown, Teague Peck, and Antoine Keys won their heat with a school record time of 3:08.74. They broke the record of 3:11.07 that was set last year at the Florida Relays. The women's 4x100m shuttle relay team of Brianne Brown,Alexis Murry, Holly Hankenson, and Linda Mutter broke a 16-year-old school record. The foursome finished 10th in the event with a time of 58.49 which broke the previous record of 1:00.76 that was set in 2000 at the Alabama Relays.

BOWLING PICKS UP WIN
At the Florida Relays, fifth-year senior Isaac Bowling won the men's discus with a throw of 53.50m/175-06, which was a personal best. The victory for Bowling is his first of his career in the discus throw event.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Junior Calvin Chemoiywo is off to a fantastic start in the outdoor season. Chemoiywo began the season with a victory in the 5000m at the USF Bulls Invitational. The Kabarnet, Kenya native followed the victory with a career best performance in the 10,000m against elite competition at the Raleigh Relays. He led the Cardinals with a seventh place finish.

MEN EARN TOP 25 RANKING
For the first time since 2011, the men's track and field team was ranked in the top 25 as they were ranked 24th in the preseason edition of the USTFCCCA Outdoor Team rankings. The team racked up a total of 86.68 points in the computer-based rankings which were based on the 2015 outdoor performances from each team's top talent and top marks from the current outdoor season.

CARDS SWEEP ACC WEEKLY FIELD HONORS
After turning in impressive performances at the USF Invitational, Javen Reeves and Bre'Yana Washearned weekly ACC honors. Both student-athletes posted marks in their events that currently rank in the nation's top-20. Reeves won the high jump with a personal best mark of 2.20m (7-2.50) which was just shy of the school record of 2.23m (7-3.75) set by Tone Belt. Bre'Yana Wash was victorious in the long jump with a personal best mark of 6.30m (20-8) just shy of the school record of 6.34m (20-9.75) set by Charachesicia Lockhart.

CARDS OPEN OUTDOOR SEASON WITH A BOOM
The Cardinals opened up their outdoor season with nine wins at the USF Bulls Invitational. While both squads won their respective 4x400m relays, the Cardinals had four individual victories on Friday before concluding the meet with three individual victories on Saturday. On Friday, Caitlin Gilmore won the hammer throw while Javen Reeves (high jump) and Bre'Yana Wash (long jump) turned in impressive performances that were just shy of existing records. In the distance events, Ernest Kibet won the 1500m run while Calvin Chemoiywo won the 5000m. Mara Zielonka was victorious in the high jump while Steve Wade won the shot put invitational.

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