Friday, March 24
Waco, Texas
Michigan State University
at
Clyde Hart Classic
Photo by: Angela Fieno
Track & Field Wraps Up Outdoor Opener at Clyde Hart Classic
3/25/2023 8:37:00 PM | Track and Field
WACO, Texas - Michigan State track & field's sprints, jumps and throws contingents opened up the outdoor season at the Clyde Hart Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Spartans recorded eight podium finishes in Waco at Baylor's Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.
"We walked away with plenty of solid performances from sprints, jumps and the throws this weekend."Â The transition from indoor to outdoor is quick, so to see the athletes be able to go out there this weekend and make quick work of some early season lifetime bests, and be able to compete against some nationally ranked teams, gave a great sense of where our program is and where it will go this outdoor season." MSU throws coach Zac Ball said.
THROWS
The Spartans kicked off the weekend with the women's hammer throw on Friday afternoon. MSU's lone entrant in the event, sophomore Valadian Pallett, set a personal best of 47.88m to finish 11th. On the men's side, junior Joshua DeVries, who qualified to the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the event in 2022, set a personal best by over two meters (63.76m) to place fourth.
The discus throw also took place Friday. Sophomore Opal Jackson competed in her first of two events of the weekend, finishing fifth with a 47.12m throw. Pallett set her second personal best of the day with a 46.28m throw to take sixth place behind Jackson. In the men's discus, freshman Colby Morlock placed fifth with a mark of 50.59m, while multi-event athlete Ryan Talbot set a personal best of 50.06m for a top-10 finish.
On Saturday, Jackson and Pallett returned to compete in the shot put, both recording top-10 finishes. Jackson secured bronze with a 14.99m toss, while Pallett placed sixth in 14.20m. Morlock continued to impress in his Spartan outdoor debut, recording a 17.67m throw to finish fourth in the men's shot put.
JUMPS
Fifth-year senior Olivia Lopez notched a sixth-place finish as the lone Spartan in the women's long jump, recording her best mark in the second round at 5.70m. In the men's long jump, sophomore Jalen Nelson placed seventh with a leap of 6.89m, while sophomore Dylan Terryberry recorded a mark of 6.71m for 10th place.Â
The Spartans swept the top spots in the women's and men's pole vault on Saturday. Freshman Sophia Mettes cleared 3.95m in a jump off to take the win on the women's side, while fifth-year senior and All-American Trevor Stephenson picked up where he left off in the indoor season with a 5.30m clearance for the men's title. Freshman Natalie Blake cleared 3.75m in the women's competition to place fifth and freshman Adam Blue cleared 4.65m in the men's competition for fourth in his debut in the Green and White.
Junior Elizabeth Knoll took silver in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 1.68m. In the final jumping event of the weekend, the men's high jump, junior Tylor Leedom tied for second with a 2.00m clearance, and freshman Brady Schultz placed seventh after clearing 1.95m.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Senior Kendel Hammock put up one of the most impressive performances for the Spartans over the weekend in the men's 400m hurdles Friday, earning runner-up honors with a time of 52.86.
Finishing up the sprints and hurdles on Saturday, senior Amani Nuels placed 13th in the women's 100 with a time of 12.01, while senior Antonio Postell II placed 12th in the men's race in 10.67. Talbot returned on Saturday for action on the track in the 110m hurdles, setting a personal best of 14.74 to finish ninth.Â
A trio of Spartans posted sub-60 second times in the women's 400m, led by graduate student Shakira Dancy in 11th with a time of 56.71. Graduate student Nala Barlow ran 58.51 and newcomer Alexys Wilson ran 58.78. In the men's 400m, sophomore Terrence Muex placed 13th in 48.64.Â
MSU also ran two relays on the men's side and one on the women's. The Spartans' women's 4x100 relay of Wilson, Dancy, Anyssa Hall and Nuels earned bronze in 46.89, while the men's 4x100 of Ian Thompson, Muex, Logan Allen and Postell placed sixth in 41.35. The men's 4x400 of Muex, Talbot, Postell and Alex Yon also earned a sixth-place finish, running 3:16.84.
"Our staff believes we are ahead of schedule from this time last year," continued Ball. "We're looking forward to seeing what will come this season in the next seven-plus weeks as we prepare for the conference and national championships."
MSU continues the outdoor season at home on March 31 and April 1, hosting the annual Spartan Invitational at Ralph Young Field. Action gets underway in East Lansing at noon on March 31.Â
"We walked away with plenty of solid performances from sprints, jumps and the throws this weekend."Â The transition from indoor to outdoor is quick, so to see the athletes be able to go out there this weekend and make quick work of some early season lifetime bests, and be able to compete against some nationally ranked teams, gave a great sense of where our program is and where it will go this outdoor season." MSU throws coach Zac Ball said.
THROWS
The Spartans kicked off the weekend with the women's hammer throw on Friday afternoon. MSU's lone entrant in the event, sophomore Valadian Pallett, set a personal best of 47.88m to finish 11th. On the men's side, junior Joshua DeVries, who qualified to the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the event in 2022, set a personal best by over two meters (63.76m) to place fourth.
The discus throw also took place Friday. Sophomore Opal Jackson competed in her first of two events of the weekend, finishing fifth with a 47.12m throw. Pallett set her second personal best of the day with a 46.28m throw to take sixth place behind Jackson. In the men's discus, freshman Colby Morlock placed fifth with a mark of 50.59m, while multi-event athlete Ryan Talbot set a personal best of 50.06m for a top-10 finish.
On Saturday, Jackson and Pallett returned to compete in the shot put, both recording top-10 finishes. Jackson secured bronze with a 14.99m toss, while Pallett placed sixth in 14.20m. Morlock continued to impress in his Spartan outdoor debut, recording a 17.67m throw to finish fourth in the men's shot put.
JUMPS
Fifth-year senior Olivia Lopez notched a sixth-place finish as the lone Spartan in the women's long jump, recording her best mark in the second round at 5.70m. In the men's long jump, sophomore Jalen Nelson placed seventh with a leap of 6.89m, while sophomore Dylan Terryberry recorded a mark of 6.71m for 10th place.Â
The Spartans swept the top spots in the women's and men's pole vault on Saturday. Freshman Sophia Mettes cleared 3.95m in a jump off to take the win on the women's side, while fifth-year senior and All-American Trevor Stephenson picked up where he left off in the indoor season with a 5.30m clearance for the men's title. Freshman Natalie Blake cleared 3.75m in the women's competition to place fifth and freshman Adam Blue cleared 4.65m in the men's competition for fourth in his debut in the Green and White.
Junior Elizabeth Knoll took silver in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 1.68m. In the final jumping event of the weekend, the men's high jump, junior Tylor Leedom tied for second with a 2.00m clearance, and freshman Brady Schultz placed seventh after clearing 1.95m.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Senior Kendel Hammock put up one of the most impressive performances for the Spartans over the weekend in the men's 400m hurdles Friday, earning runner-up honors with a time of 52.86.
Finishing up the sprints and hurdles on Saturday, senior Amani Nuels placed 13th in the women's 100 with a time of 12.01, while senior Antonio Postell II placed 12th in the men's race in 10.67. Talbot returned on Saturday for action on the track in the 110m hurdles, setting a personal best of 14.74 to finish ninth.Â
A trio of Spartans posted sub-60 second times in the women's 400m, led by graduate student Shakira Dancy in 11th with a time of 56.71. Graduate student Nala Barlow ran 58.51 and newcomer Alexys Wilson ran 58.78. In the men's 400m, sophomore Terrence Muex placed 13th in 48.64.Â
MSU also ran two relays on the men's side and one on the women's. The Spartans' women's 4x100 relay of Wilson, Dancy, Anyssa Hall and Nuels earned bronze in 46.89, while the men's 4x100 of Ian Thompson, Muex, Logan Allen and Postell placed sixth in 41.35. The men's 4x400 of Muex, Talbot, Postell and Alex Yon also earned a sixth-place finish, running 3:16.84.
"Our staff believes we are ahead of schedule from this time last year," continued Ball. "We're looking forward to seeing what will come this season in the next seven-plus weeks as we prepare for the conference and national championships."
MSU continues the outdoor season at home on March 31 and April 1, hosting the annual Spartan Invitational at Ralph Young Field. Action gets underway in East Lansing at noon on March 31.Â
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Throws
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Jumps/Decathlon
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