Track & Field Wins 13 Events at Mean Green Invitational

DENTON, Texas – The UNT track and field team battled through windy conditions to collect 13 event titles at the Mean Green Invitational Saturday.

The Mean Green had five champions in field events and eight events on the track, while a plethora of athletes recorded personal bests Saturday. However, due to the high wind level, many of the personal bests in shorter races, long jump and triple jump were considered wind aided, which occurs when the tailwind exceeds an average velocity of 2.0 meters per second.

"I was very happy with our performance today," head coach Doug Marshall said. "Our team has been working toward this potential all year, so I was pleased to see people come out and let things happen by letting loose and competing hard. I was happy we were able to mimic what we do in practice and put that on the track."

Allison Stigarll was the first champion of the day for North Texas in the women's hammer throw. After entering the top-five performers in program history last week, Stigarll improved to No. 3 today with a mark of 56.29 meters that is the fifth-best throw in program history. UNT senior Jake Parchman won the men's hammer throw but was competing unattached. His throw of 68.69 meters is a facility record and ranks in the top-15 in the country.

Similar to Parchman, All-American KeAyla Dove competed unattached and won her event. Her throw of 17.57 meters was good enough for first, while Dionna James took third with a season-long attempt of 14.25 meters in the shot put.

UNT's women's long jumpers continued to impress during the outdoor season with four athletes placing in the top five finishers. True freshman Rayona Runnels won for the first time in her young career with a wind-aided mark of 6.16 meters. Glen Hardy, Jasmyn Reece and Kennedy Adams placed third, fourth and fifth, while surpassing their personal bests.

The Mean Green won both pole vault competitions with Emma Tindall and Joshua Keith claiming high marks for the meet, while Nakiya Marshall and Kennedy Adams placed first and second in the women's triple jump.

North Texas also swept the relays taking first place in the both the men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. The men's 4x100 team consisting of Samir Williams, Jaylen Washington, Justin Walden and Jared Johnson clocked a season-best time 39.76 in the victory.

Williams, Walden and Johnson were three of 11 seniors honored by the program during the final home meet of their careers. Distance runners Shannon Cook and Kate Hilty were two other seniors who had special days competing at home after missing significant time this season due to injuries.

The performances from UNT's hurdlers were also a welcomed highlight for the Mean Green. China Okoye won the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.03 that makes her the second-best performer in school history trailing only former All-American Chastity Stewart. Nakiya Marshall also led a group of ladies who placed third through sixth in the 100-meter hurdles behind a pair of professionals who competed unattached, including 2018 world indoor silver medalist Christina Clemens who set the all-conditions facility record at the meet.

"I was happy with our hurdlers," Doug Marshall said. "They really had a chance to come out and put some good stuff together. To see them take what they do in practice and execute it on the track was huge."

Underclassmen Alan Proenza and Evan Nichols also collected their first wins with the former winning the morning session of the men's 1,500 meters and the latter taking gold in the men's 400 meters. Makaylee Ray won the morning 1,500 meters on the women's side with a time of 5:05.88.

The Mean Green will look to take their success to the West Coast while dispersing across three meets in California between Thursday, April 11 and Saturday, April 13.

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Adams

Shannon Cook

KeAyla Dove

Kate Hilty

Dionna James

Jared Johnson

Nakiya Marshall

Evan Nichols

Jake Parchman

Alan Proenza

Makaylee Ray

Jasmyn Reece

Rayona Runnels

Allison Stigarll

Emma Tindall

Justin Walden

Jaylen Washington

Samir Williams

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