Following a strong indoor season in which the women took first and the men took second in the MAC Championships, the Kent State track team began its outdoor season last weekend at the Lenny Lyles Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky.

There were strong performances from members of the both the men’s and women’s teams during the two-day event.

On Friday, five Flashes set personal bests. Redshirt-sophmore Matthias Tayala took first in the hammer throw after throwing a personal-best 68.57 meters. The distance was also good for a new meet record. Tayala will hope to continue the success he started in during the indoor season throughout the rem

Redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Clippinger finished ninth in the women’s hammer throw after a new personal-best throw of 44.96 meters.

Freshman Reggie Jagers’ personal record in the discus was good for a second-place finish in the meet. Jagers, who threw for 56.12 meters, and Central Michigan’s Alex Row, who took first with a 56.42-meter throw, both beat the old meet record throw. Juniors Tyler Jones and Kyle Tywon’s personal discus records were good for 16th and 18th place, respectively.

The second day of the meet was highlighted by a win in the high jump by Tyler Jones and victory in the pole vault for sophomore Jesse Oxley.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay team also proved to be victorious, posting a time of 48.33 seconds. Senior C.J. Carlisle also took the top spot in the javelin throw, throwing for a distance of 46.21 meters

The women’s team produced a number of top-three finishes Saturday: Lakia Kent-Allen in the triple jump, JoAnne Pittman in the 100-meter hurdles, Morgan Estes in the pole vault, and Erica Hutson in the 400-meter dash. The 4×400-meter relay team also took second with a time of 3:55.64.

The outdoor season will continue next week at the Northeast Quad at Akron, which will start on Friday.

Contact Tyler Kieslich at [email protected].