Record-breaking performances during the track meet this weekend helped the Kent State track and field teams post solid results at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup at Penn State University in State College, Penn.

The men came in second with 92 points, and the women placed seventh with 48.5 points.

“We had a great weekend,” Kent State coach Bill Lawson said. “We’re exactly where I want to be going into the MAC Championships in three weeks.

“We didn’t flex all of our muscles, but we’re very close to putting all of our athletes on the track at the same time.”

Many athletes had significant performances, but none were better than sophomore Destin Heasley’s run in the 600-meter run and senior LeVania Henderson’s toss in the weight throw.

Heasley finished first with a time of 1 minute, 18.61 seconds. This time broke the school record of 1:18.90, previously held by All-American Mike Inge, who ran the record time in 2004 with the Flashes.

“I felt really good about the results because Mike Inge is an excellent runner,” Heasley said.

Although Heasley broke the school record, he didn’t win the race easily. The second place finisher, Penn State sophomore Lionel Williams, lost to Heasley by one one-hundredth of a second.

Henderson finished first in the weight throw with a throw of 65 feet, 2.25 inches, breaking the school record.

“She punched her ticket to the National Championships, it was a great throw,” Lawson said.

Henderson also placed second in the shot put. Her throw, which was 48-10.25, ranks 10th on Kent State’s all-time list.

Junior Samantha Fetter also participated in the shot put. She placed fourth with a throw of 47-6.5.

Joining Henderson in winning the weight throw was sophomore Matt Pfleger with a throw of 63-11.5.

Other impressive performances came from sophomore John Minen and the men’s 4×400-meter relay team.

Minen placed fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.39. This time ranks fifth on Kent State’s all-time list.

The men’s relay team, consisting of freshman Princeton Bryson, sophomore Matt Moffett, freshman Colin Pettiford and junior Curtis Eaton Jr., ran a time of 3:13.36. They came in second and ranked fourth on the list of fastest times in Kent State history.

The track team will be competing in Fayetteville, Arkansas and Akron next weekend. Fifteen athletes will compete at the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas, and the rest of the team will be at the Akron Open.

Contact sports correspondent Cody Erbacher at [email protected].