Friday, March 29
Raleigh, N.C.
Michigan State University
at
Raleigh Relays
MSU Relay Teams Shine on Final Day of Raleigh Relays
3/30/2019 6:08:00 PM | Track and Field
The Spartans win two relay titles; Sophia Franklin ties pole vault school record.
RALEIGH, N.C. – Michigan State track & field earned two relay victories, finished second in two others, and tied a school pole vault record to wrap up competition at the Raleigh Relays on Saturday at the NC State Track Complex.
"I thought our sprinters had a really good day today, they were very competitive," director of track & field Walt Drenth said. "I thought our distance runners had a really good day yesterday, but today I thought was a little bit better collectively on the track. In the field we had some good marks, I thought Nick Kramer did a really nice job and Jerimiah (Evans) was good yesterday in the discus. Kayli (Johnson) stood out and Ellen (DiPietro) had some nice jumps as well."
Track Events:
The Spartans grabbed their fourth event win of the weekend with a win in the women's 4x1500 relay. The team of Kayla Wiitala, Karrigan Smith, Lauren Jenkins and Kayla Kavulich crossed the line first in a time of 18:24.29.
MSU earned another relay title when the women's 4x800 team of Carlyn Arteaga, Kayla Wiitala, Annie Fuller and Dillon McClintock ran away with a victory of more than 17 seconds in 8:43.97, while the women's 4x200 team opened the season with a time of 1:39.49 to take sixth place
The men earned their second runner-up finish in the relays Saturday when the 4x800 team of Jalen Smith, John Gove, Tommy Osika and Justine Kiprotich crossed the line in 7:32.18. Earlier The men's 4x200 relay team of junior Savalas Morgan, freshmen Joe Stevens & Peirre Brown and senior Devin McKinney began the season strong by clocking 1:25.36 to grab second place
Notes: Senior Taylor Mullins got her outdoor season off to a good start by clocking a time of 1:00.17 to take fourth in the women's 400-meter hurdle race. Junior Noah Burton finished 10th in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.27.
Field Events:
Sophomore Sophia Franklin tied the Michigan State outdoor school record in the women's pole vault by clearing a top height of 4.25 meters (13-11 ¼), equaling the mark set by Lauren Chorny in 2016. It was a new personal record for Franklin after she broke the indoor school record with a height of 4.18 meters (13-08.50) in January.
"Sophia had a good day, and she had really good attempt at 4.30 meters too," Drenth said. "Coach Creekmur has done a really good job coaching her and it's nice to see her continue to get better and better."
Senior Libby Jefferson finished fourth in the women's triple jump competition with a farthest leap of 12.14 meters (39-10) for the Spartans.
In the hammer throw, sophomore Nick Kramer recorded a farthest throw of 59.76 (196-1), less than two meters off a personal best to take fifth place. On the women's side, freshman Rebecca Mammel took 10th with a mark of 55.22 meters (181-2), while senior Stephanie Pajot was 15th with a best throw of 49.78 meters (163-4).
"Heading into next week we're going to try and get some of the younger kids off the mark," Drenth said. "We got off to a good start this week and it's going to be about continuing to build on where we are now heading into the rest of the season."
The Spartans host their only home meet of the season next week, the Spartan Invitational, April 5-6 at Ralph Young Field.
"I thought our sprinters had a really good day today, they were very competitive," director of track & field Walt Drenth said. "I thought our distance runners had a really good day yesterday, but today I thought was a little bit better collectively on the track. In the field we had some good marks, I thought Nick Kramer did a really nice job and Jerimiah (Evans) was good yesterday in the discus. Kayli (Johnson) stood out and Ellen (DiPietro) had some nice jumps as well."
Track Events:
The Spartans grabbed their fourth event win of the weekend with a win in the women's 4x1500 relay. The team of Kayla Wiitala, Karrigan Smith, Lauren Jenkins and Kayla Kavulich crossed the line first in a time of 18:24.29.
MSU earned another relay title when the women's 4x800 team of Carlyn Arteaga, Kayla Wiitala, Annie Fuller and Dillon McClintock ran away with a victory of more than 17 seconds in 8:43.97, while the women's 4x200 team opened the season with a time of 1:39.49 to take sixth place
The men earned their second runner-up finish in the relays Saturday when the 4x800 team of Jalen Smith, John Gove, Tommy Osika and Justine Kiprotich crossed the line in 7:32.18. Earlier The men's 4x200 relay team of junior Savalas Morgan, freshmen Joe Stevens & Peirre Brown and senior Devin McKinney began the season strong by clocking 1:25.36 to grab second place
Notes: Senior Taylor Mullins got her outdoor season off to a good start by clocking a time of 1:00.17 to take fourth in the women's 400-meter hurdle race. Junior Noah Burton finished 10th in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.27.
Field Events:
Sophomore Sophia Franklin tied the Michigan State outdoor school record in the women's pole vault by clearing a top height of 4.25 meters (13-11 ¼), equaling the mark set by Lauren Chorny in 2016. It was a new personal record for Franklin after she broke the indoor school record with a height of 4.18 meters (13-08.50) in January.
"Sophia had a good day, and she had really good attempt at 4.30 meters too," Drenth said. "Coach Creekmur has done a really good job coaching her and it's nice to see her continue to get better and better."
Senior Libby Jefferson finished fourth in the women's triple jump competition with a farthest leap of 12.14 meters (39-10) for the Spartans.
In the hammer throw, sophomore Nick Kramer recorded a farthest throw of 59.76 (196-1), less than two meters off a personal best to take fifth place. On the women's side, freshman Rebecca Mammel took 10th with a mark of 55.22 meters (181-2), while senior Stephanie Pajot was 15th with a best throw of 49.78 meters (163-4).
"Heading into next week we're going to try and get some of the younger kids off the mark," Drenth said. "We got off to a good start this week and it's going to be about continuing to build on where we are now heading into the rest of the season."
The Spartans host their only home meet of the season next week, the Spartan Invitational, April 5-6 at Ralph Young Field.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Sprints
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Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Hurdles/Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and FieldProcess Oriented | Spartans All-Access
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