TOLEDO, OH - The UT Varsity Track will be the host site for one last competition this spring, as the Rockets track and field team welcomes in 19 schools and over 300 athletes for the First Annual Toledo Tune-Up on Friday.
The field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with a noon start time for the first running events. Sixteen men's teams and 16 women's teams are slated to compete.
"This is a great turnout for our first run at this meet," Kevin Hadsell, head coach, said. "Last week's 26th Annual Toledo Invitational was the largest ever and this weekend will be a great meet as well."
This will be the final meet for Toledo before next week's conference championships, which take place Thursday, May 13 - Saturday, May 15 in Buffalo.
Last week, the Rockets had standout performances not just in the state of Ohio, but across the country as well. Ari Fisher recorded one of the best marks in MAC history in the 5000-meter run with her NCAA-qualifying time of 16:24.27 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, CA. It's the seventh-best time in conference annals, second-best in school history, and the fastest in the MAC this spring. Fisher also stands fourth in the region in the event.
UT hosted the 26th Annual Toledo Invitational last week as well and recorded several noteworthy efforts. Michelle Sutherland won the high jump with a meet record height of 5-08, which is tenth in the region and second in the MAC. Also in the jumps, Alexandra Afloari hit a mark of 19-00.25 in the long jump, which is ninth on the school's all-time list.
Other winners for UT included Amanda Kaverman (400), Kristal Studer (3000), Julie Snyder (100 hurdles), Jaime Gittens (triple jump), Danielle Jacoby (javelin) and redshirt Emily Nadolny (unattached, discus).
Meanwhile, the Rockets also sent a handful of athletes to the prestigious Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, where Kaverman placed fifth in the 200 with a time of 24.48. Afloari and Snyder also recorded top-10 finishes in the triple and high jump, respectively.
Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu
