University of North Texas Athletics
Friday, April 17
Denton, TX
University of North Texas
vs
Bill Schmidt Invite
Photo by: Mark Regalado / Mean Green Sports
Mean Green Honor Seniors, Dominate in Home Meet
4/18/2026 4:54:00 PM | Track & Field/XC
DENTON — The Mean Green track and field program honored 23 seniors on Saturday as they wrapped up competition at the Bill Schmidt Invite with a fitting 23 event wins over the two-day meet at Norma Knobel Hunt Stadium.
UNT had several standout performances despite tricky weather conditions, which included temperatures in the 50s, rain and heavy wind on Saturday. The less-than-ideal conditions, however, didn't stop the Mean Green from putting up several personal bests and some of the nation's best times this year in NCAA competition.
"I was happy with the performance today," said UNT director of track and field Doug Marshall. "I thought our group competed hard today and prepared well for the conditions. I'm so proud of our seniors and how they went out for the final time this regular season. It's really a bittersweet moment celebrating this group, but I'm extremely proud of them and all that they sacrificed for us. The future is bright and they helped shine that light in the program."
The Mean Green flooded the podium with victories on Saturday, including several wins that also set new personal bests. Senior Mackenzie Kuehl set a new PR in the women's javelin to earn a victory with a throw of 50.30 meters, while freshman Olivia Hildebrand won the women's discus with a new PR throw of 49.93 meters. Junior Reah DeGraffenried set a new PR in the 100 hurdles to get a win with a time of 13.88 seconds. Freshman Lailah Hudson won the 400 hurdles in a new PR time of 1:00.72.
Senior Jaylen Washington had one of the more impressive performances of the day when he won the men's 100 in a new PR time of 10.24 seconds, which is the 17th fastest time in the nation this year.
On Friday, UNT saw a pair of winners set new personal bests, as Patrick won the hammer throw with a new PR of 61.35 meters, and Marcus Kennedy won the high jump and became a member of the seven-footer club with a 2.14 meter jump.
The Mean Green will return to competition next Friday and Saturday at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, and will return home to Norma Knobel Hunt Stadium on May 14-16, when UNT hosts the American Conference Outdoor Championships.
UNT had several standout performances despite tricky weather conditions, which included temperatures in the 50s, rain and heavy wind on Saturday. The less-than-ideal conditions, however, didn't stop the Mean Green from putting up several personal bests and some of the nation's best times this year in NCAA competition.
"I was happy with the performance today," said UNT director of track and field Doug Marshall. "I thought our group competed hard today and prepared well for the conditions. I'm so proud of our seniors and how they went out for the final time this regular season. It's really a bittersweet moment celebrating this group, but I'm extremely proud of them and all that they sacrificed for us. The future is bright and they helped shine that light in the program."
The Mean Green flooded the podium with victories on Saturday, including several wins that also set new personal bests. Senior Mackenzie Kuehl set a new PR in the women's javelin to earn a victory with a throw of 50.30 meters, while freshman Olivia Hildebrand won the women's discus with a new PR throw of 49.93 meters. Junior Reah DeGraffenried set a new PR in the 100 hurdles to get a win with a time of 13.88 seconds. Freshman Lailah Hudson won the 400 hurdles in a new PR time of 1:00.72.
Senior Jaylen Washington had one of the more impressive performances of the day when he won the men's 100 in a new PR time of 10.24 seconds, which is the 17th fastest time in the nation this year.
On Friday, UNT saw a pair of winners set new personal bests, as Patrick won the hammer throw with a new PR of 61.35 meters, and Marcus Kennedy won the high jump and became a member of the seven-footer club with a 2.14 meter jump.
The Mean Green will return to competition next Friday and Saturday at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, and will return home to Norma Knobel Hunt Stadium on May 14-16, when UNT hosts the American Conference Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
Hurdles
/ Track & Field/XC
Throws
/ Track & Field/XC
Hurdles
/ Track & Field/XC
Jumps
/ Track & Field/XC
Throws
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints
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