AUSTIN, Texas – With a school record and the No. 2 mark in the world, Auburn track & field seniors Madi Malone and Alex Spyridonidis dominated the scene at Texas Relays to make a bold statement in their respective season openers.
Malone led off the day's action by smashing her previous record in the hammer throw. The new record, 67.98m/223-0, was set on Malone's fourth attempt Thursday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
"Madi breaking the school record in her first meet of the season just validates the outstanding effort that she's constantly putting in," Tigers throws coach Pat Ebel said. "I'm really excited to see just how far she can go as this season rolls along. Her potential is limitless."
𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 😉🔨@madileemalone is in a league of her own. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/IafQLr5NW4
— Auburn Track & Field (@AuburnTFXC) March 24, 2022
The previous record, 66.75m/219-0, was set by Malone in 2019 at the USA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
"I cannot express how amazing it feels to PR my opening weekend of outdoor season," Malone said. "I've made it to Nationals every year that I have competed, but I have never achieved a first team All-American title. With this performance, I know that it is within reach this year. It makes me even more excited for this season, and I cannot wait to see what we're all going to accomplish."
The Wichita, Kansas native finished second in the event to Alyssa Wilson of Texas State. Wilson threw 69.98m/228-7 to earn top honors.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, Spyridonidis bested his previous decathlon high by over 250 points to earn 7,917 total points and lock in the No. 2 performance in the world. His performance ranks as the third-best in Auburn history and is just 107 points shy of the program record.
The senior's previous best, 7,665 points, was set last year at NCAA Outdoors.
No. 2 in the 🌍 has a nice ring to it
— Auburn Track & Field (@AuburnTFXC) March 24, 2022
Big PR and the season just started 🤫#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/otdM8G2OPm
"Alex put forth a Herculean effort over the last two days," Tigers associate head coach Scott Richardson said. "He is the absolute best competitor whom I have ever worked with. Moreover, he is an excellent team leader and mentor for our younger athletes. We could not be more proud of him."
Spyridonidis' effort was aided by career bests in five of his 10 events. The Hanover, Germany product matched or surpassed personal benchmarks in long jump (7.39m/24-3), high jump (1.99m/605), the 400m (49.78), the 110m hurdles (14.27) and the 1500m (4:40.58). His 14.27 in the 110m hurdles also led the field of 19 competitors.
"I am very pleased with my performance these past two days," Spyridonidis said. "I would like to give credit to my coaches – coach Richardson, coach Holmes, coach Ebel – because I could not have done this without them."
Spyridonidis finished second overall while Auburn sophomore John Murray also posted a career-best outing, collecting 6,632 points of his own to finish 13th. Leo Neugebauer of Texas won the men's decathlon with a world-leading 8,131 points.
The Tigers continue to compete throughout the week until the conclusion of Texas Relays on Saturday. Kamiya Dendy will kickstart the team's Friday action in the women's high jump at 10 a.m. CST.