SKYHAWKS TO COMPETE AT 2022 OVC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEK

Wednesday, February 23

Birmingham, Ala.

UT Martin

OVC Indoor Championship

SKYHAWKS TO COMPETE AT 2022 OVC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEK

2/22/2022 5:09:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Championship Central Meet Schedule Heat Sheets Live Results ESPN+: Wednesday ESPN+: Thursday

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin will put its preparations to the test this week when competing at the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship on Wednesday, Feb. 23 and Thursday, Feb. 24 at Birmingham CrossPlex.

Due to challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Indoor Championship was not held. The Skyhawks last competed at the OVC Indoor Championship in 2020 where the Eastern Illinois men claimed its 18th OVC Indoor Championship while the Austin Peay women claimed its first championship since 2001.

UT Martin has enjoyed success this season with numerous personal-best while setting new program records. The Skyhawks will look to build upon the team's most recent showing at the Redhawks Open where the team rewrote five program records in long jump, triple jump and pole vault along with both the 55m dash and 55m hurdles track events.

Junior Brady Fry enters the championship field with the most experience inside the facility with his third trip to the Birmingham CrossPlex. In his two previous visits he came away with hardware after winning the 60m hurdle final in 2019 while finishing runner-up in 2020. This season, Fry ranks amongst OVC leaders in the 60m hurdles with a top-five time of 8.32 seconds at Hoosier Hills while breaking his own school records last week in the 55m dash and 55m hurdles.

Another feature performer that quickly became acclimated to the main stage last year is sophomore Darius Holland. During his freshman campaign in 2021, Holland placed third in long jump at the OVC Outdoor Championship and qualified for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary while boasting four school records in long jump, triple jump and high jump between the indoor and outdoor seasons. His school-record performance of 7.38m at the Redhawks Open last week ranked as the third-longest distance in the OVC this season while his record-breaking triple jump (13.92m) enters the championship field fourth-best amongst league competitors.

Also in the sprint events, look for a few newcomers to leave their impact. Both Janay Chapman and freshman JayleAna Wyatt have been strong in their debut season in a Skyhawk uniform primarily in the 60m dash and 200m dash. On the men's side, dual-sport athlete JaMichael McGoy also excelled in the 60m dash where he sported a top-10 time with a 7.04 second effort at Hoosier Hills. Junior Addison Taylor will look to bring some veteran leadership to the group as she posted a new PR in the 60m hurdles last time out.

Stepping up in distance a little, sophomore John Collin Askew ranked amongst OVC leaders in the 400m dash with a PR of 50.25 at the Bellarmine Open earlier this season. Then in the 800m, both Andre Brown (1:55.4) and Hawken Foote (1:55.64) ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the league after their performances at Hoosier Hills. Joining in the action is freshman Rita Eimer who's best time in the 800m (2:26.85) came at the Bellarmine Open.

In the distance events, the Skyhawks feature a pair of top-10 performers in the men's mile headlined by senior Luke McNair who ranks fourth with a time of 4:13.83 at Hoosier Hills. Sophomore Cole Davis also squeaked into the top-10 with a personal-best time of 4:19.22. Meanwhile in the 3k, freshman Will Cahill posted the fourth-fastest time in the OVC after racing to a time of 8:23.34 at Hoosier Hills while senior Will Oglesby sits inside the top-10 at 8:38.82. On the women's side, freshman Annie Amundsen was also a consistent contributor in the 3k with a season-best time of 10:28.41 at the Bellarmine Open.

In the relay events, the Skyhawks boasted the OVC's best men's DMR squad by over seven seconds this season with their performance at the Bellarmine Open with a time of 10:17.17. Meanwhile, UT Martin will strive for medal contention in the 4x400m with a top-five time.

The event will be contested at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. For more information pertaining to tickets and parking, check out the championship central link above.