Knight Breaks School Record to Lead Louisville Track and Field on Friday

Holly Knight broke the seven-year-old 5,000m school record at the Meyo Invitational by a second.

 

February 3, 2012

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior Holly Knight became the second female runner to enter their name into the school’s indoor annals this season, breaking the 5,000m mark and leading the University of Louisville track and field teams at the Meyo Invitational at Loftus Sports Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Friday night.

 

A three-time All-American while at Auburn, including one indoor distinction, Knight raced to a time of 16:24.70 in the 5,000m race. She broke seven-year-old mark of 16:25.71 that was set by Michelle Borgert in 1995 for a second-place finish. The time easily meets the BIG EAST qualifying standard and gives Knight her third qualifying mark; the time ranks among the top 10 nationally heading into Friday’s action.

 

Michelle Molodynia (1,000m), Andrew Stewart (1,000m) and Gordon Dooley (5,000m) achieved league qualifying marks as well in their respective events. Dooley, like Knight, collected his third qualifying mark in the distance events.

 

Louisville also competed on Friday in multiple events at the VT Elite Meet, held at the Rector Fieldhouse on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va.

 

Amashi Kendall, recently named the BIG EAST Female Field Athlete Week, picked up where she left off in the weight throw last week. After registering a personal-best mark of 20.66m/67-9.5 in the event at the Indiana Relays, Kendall improved upon her mark, heaving the weight 20.83m/68-4.25 for a first-place finish. As of Friday, the mark ranks in the top five nationally. Teammate Patrice Gates placed third in the event, throwing a personal-best 18.61m/61-0.75.

 

Chelsea Lucas added to the team’s BIG EAST qualifier total in the field events, as she cleared 3.55m/11-7.75 in the pole vault for a season best.

 

The Cardinals also received strong performances on the women’s side from Charachesicia Lockhart and Margret Harris. In the women’s long jump, the duo placed second and third, respectively. In the sprints events, Harris raced to a top-eight finish in the preliminaries and took eighth in the finals, while Lockhart, competing in the 200m, posted a qualifying mark and placed 15th in a group of 40 runners.

 

On the men’s side, Seon Powell and Sam Bombaugh had significant improvements in terms of season-best marks in their respective events. Powell leapt to a third-place finish in the long jump behind a mark of 7.42m/24-4.25, a distance that ranks in the top-40 nationally. Bombaugh, also competing in the field events, took seventh in the weight throw and achieved a personal-best 18.89m/61-11.75, also a top-40 mark nationally.

 

In the sprints, newcomer Emmanuel Mattadi collected his second BIG EAST qualifying mark by clocking a time of 22.53 in the 200m dash.

 

The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4, at both the Meyo Invitational and VT Elite Meet competitions. Louisville opens the meet in South Bend at 10 a.m., while commencing action in Blacksburg at 11 a.m.

 

For all of the latest information on Louisville cross country and track and field, log on to UofLsports.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/louisvilletrack.

 

MEYO INVITATIONAL (SOUTH BEND, IND. – LOFTUS SPORTS CENTER)

 

Friday, Feb. 3

 

Women’s 5,000m Run

2. Holly Knight – 16:24.70 #

 

Men’s 5,000m Run

8. Gordon Dooley – 14:34.34 #

 

Women’s 1,000m Run

8. Michelle Molodynia – 2:53.03 #

27. Maria Frigo – 3:00.05

 

Men’s 1,000m Run

15. Andrew Stewart – 2:28.55 #

 

VT ELITE MEET (BLACKSBURG, VA. – RECTOR FIELDHOUSE)

 

Friday, Feb. 3

 

Women’s Long Jump

2. Charachesicia Lockhart – 6.01m/19-8.75 #

3. Margret Harris – 5.99m/19-8 #

9. Kim Cardeiro – 5.57m/18-3.25 #

t-21. Gabrielle Jackson – 5.01m/16-5.25

 

Men’s Long Jump

3. Seon Powell – 7.42m/24-4.25 #

10. Taylor Caldwell – 6.68m/21-11

 

Women’s Pole Vault Unseeded

t-2. Chelsea Lucas – 3.55m/11-7.75 #

 

Women’s Weight Throw

1. Amashi-ali Kendall – 20.83m/68-4.25 #

3. Patrice Gates – 18.61m/61-0.75 #

11. Hannah Baker – 14.27m/46-10

 

Women’s 60m Hurdles Preliminaries

13. Gabrielle Jackson – 9.16

18. Kim Cardeiro – 9.85

19. Megan Schubert – 10.18

 

Men’s 60m Hurdles Preliminaries

8. Calvin Arsenault – 8.28 #

 

Women’s 60m Dash Preliminaries

7. Margret Harris – 7.49q #

 

Women’s 60m Dash Final

8. Margret Harris – 7.52 #

 

Men’s 60m Dash Preliminaries

13. Emmanuel Matadi – 6.96 #

17. Marcellus Hobbs – 7.20

 

Women’s 800m Run

14. Ahlivia Spencer – 2:18.29

21. Jordan Diaz – 2:21.77

 

Men’s Weight Throw

7. Sam Bombaugh – 18.89m/61-11.75 #

11. Brad Vivace – 17.33m/56-10.25 #

 

Women’s 200m Dash Open

15. Charachesicia Lockhart – 25.44 #

 

Men’s 200m Dash

7. Emmanuel Matadi – 22.53 #

11. Marcellus Hobbs – 22.72

 

# denotes BIG EAST indoor qualifying mark

 

-ig-

 

For More Information, Contact:

Ira Green, (502) 852-4857

Ira.Green@louisville.edu