AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track and field travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to compete in the LSU Invitational for the final meet of the regular season Saturday, April 3. The women’s hammer throw will kick off the action at 10 a.m. CT on the Bernie Moore Track.
The Orange & Blue are coming off a strong home meet, the Tiger Track Classic, where the team delivered seven event wins and 20 collegiate personal best performances. It looks to get one last tune-up before post season begins with the conference championships in two weeks.
“One of the things I often say to the team is that we need you at your best when it matters most,” Auburn track & field head coach Leroy Burrell said. “As we approach the end of the season, meets take on even more significance and importance. This meet is extremely important for us. We want to perform well and build some confidence going into SECs.”
At the home meet, the throws group was highlighted by senior Kyle Brown’s performance. He took gold in men’s hammer throw after having a collegiate best showing (65.86m). His mark placed him at No. 15 in the NCAA.
Junior Matthew Rueff also had a personal best performance, finishing fourth overall in shot put (19.07m) and claiming the tenth furthest throw in the SEC.
The women also had a solid outing as they placed second through fifth in discus throw. Senior Adrienne Adams placed second with a mark of 55.46m, freshman Camryn Massey had a PR to take bronze (54.18m), senior Maura Huwalt claimed fourth (52.60m) and junior Megan Hague rounded out the top five with a personal best mark of 51.83m.
The distance squad for the women delivered two wins as senior Samantha Rogers won the 1500m (4:19.94) and sophomore Cady McPhail took gold in the 800 (2:09.35).
Both the men’s and women’s squads enter the weekend ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA poll with the men at No. 13 and the women at No. 25.
The Tigers look to use some of their heavy hitters on the track with indoor 60m hurdles National Champion Ja’Kobe Tharp, All-Americans Ana-Liese Torian (100m hurdles), Huwalt (hammer throw), junior Alyssa Quinones-Mixon (pole vault), indoor 400m record holder senior Vimbayi Maisvorewa and the defending 4x100m national championship team that includes sophomore Kayinsola Ajayi, junior Azeem Fahmi and seniors Dario Matau and Makanakaishe Charamba.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of senior Ashantae Harvey, sophomores Deborah Oke and Zuriel Reed and Maisvorewa will also make an appearance. The quartet holds the seventh fastest time in the nation (3:27.92).
“They’ll represent us like they always do and perform well,” Burrell said. This is the transition week as we move into the championship part of the season.”
While in Baton Rouge, the men and women will face off against No. 10/NR Alabama, No. 8/4 Arkansas, No. 14/8 Florida, No. 4/1 Georgia, Miami (Fla.), No. 6/NR Minnesota, No. 18/NR Ole Miss, No. 3/24 Tennessee and host No. 15/18 LSU.
“You’re going to see people putting their best foot forward,” Burrell said. “It’ll be a very competitive competition for us.”
Live results from the meet can be found on deltatiming.com.
Up Next:
The Auburn track & field team takes a week off competition and returns for the SEC Outdoor Championships May 15-17 in Lexington, Kentucky at the Kroger Field.