Bobcat Invite Results / Texas Relays Results
AUSTIN, Texas - The track & field teams competed at the 2016 Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and the Bobcat Invitational on Thursday. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won the men's hammer throw at the Texas Relays, while Micaela Hazlewood won the discus at the Bobcat Invite.
Enekwechi competed in his first hammer throw of the season, after opening in the shot put in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, two weeks ago. He started his day with a mark of 65.97 meters (216-5), which put him in the lead among collegiate competitors. Enekwechi improved his mark to 67.54m (221-7) on his third throw, which kept him in first among collegians and second overall. He again improved his mark, throwing 67.96m (222-11) on his fifth attempt. That mark, which ranks eighth in the country, was his best of the day and earned him a second place finish and the top collegian.
Hazlewood opened in the discus after throwing shot put two weeks ago in the outdoor opener. The sophomore, who is coming off an NCAA Championships appearance and Honorable Mention All-America finish, threw a person best Thursday to win the event. Hazlewood launched a best mark of 51.00 meters (167-4), improving on her previous best as a Boilermaker by two inches. Her mark ranks fifth in school history.
Sarah Loesch finished runner-up in the discus at the Bobcat Invitational with a personal best day. The redshirt freshman had a best of 49.20m (161-5), which ranks eighth in program history. Chelsie Meeks also PRed in the event with the 11th best mark in program history. Meeks finished fifth with a throw of 48.45m (158-11).
Back at the Texas Relays, about 45 minutes away, Gabrielle Broschard had a personal best in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Broschard hung among the top four the entire race, before closing strong and finishing third. She finished with a time of 10:37.83, which is just outside the top 10 in program history.
Symone Black qualified for the women's 400m hurdles finals at the Texas Relays. The sophomore defending Big Ten champion ran a time of 57.73 seconds to win her heat, which was the third-fastest overall time of the prelims. Black will be up against the nation's current top individual in the event, Ariel Jones, in the finals. Obokhare Ikpefan made it back to finals in the men's 400m hurdles. Ikpefan finished third in his heat with the sixth fastest time of the prelims. He crossed the finish line in 51.21 seconds.
Matthew Garrison and Tim Deal wrapped up the decathlon, after competing in the first five events Wednesday. Garrison had a huge opening day in the high jump, clearing a personal best height of 2.05m (6-8.75). His mark was the best in the competition and earned him 850 points. Garrison also had a big day in the long jump, leaping a wind-aided (+3.8) 7.24m (23-9.00) to earn 871 points. Deal had the better day Thursday and wound up finished 12th overall with a total of 6,580 points. Garrison took 13th with 6,570 points. Both of them completed their first ever decathlon.
The Boilermakers continue action at both meets Friday, as well as begin the Stanford Invite with five distance runners making the trip to the west coast.