The Little Rock Trojans men’s and women’s track and field teams finished second overall at the 13th annual Little Rock Invitational, which concluded on Apr. 18. The meet featured several first-place finishes for the Trojans, as well as Senior Day celebrations honoring outgoing athletes.
The invitational saw both teams competing for the Governor’s I-40 Showdown trophy presented by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Senior Brooklyn Marcee broke the meet record in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.85 meters, surpassing the previous mark by 0.10 meters.
Other top performances included senior Takia Palmer winning the women’s 200 meters, freshmen Jeremiah Patton taking first in both the men’s 100 and 200 meters, Brianna Brinkley securing victory in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, and Zach Morin winning the men’s 5,000 meters despite challenging weather conditions on Saturday. Additional event winners were seniors Falon Short and Ragen Hodge in high jump, Jordan Smith in the men’s 1,500 meters, junior Matthew Tyeskie in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, freshman Colter Maya in the men’s 400 meters, and a victorious men’s relay team anchored by senior TaVieon Neal.
Senior Day recognized several athletes for their contributions to Trojan athletics: Cayla Anthony, Carolin Bielert, Ragen Hodge, Brooklyn Marcee, Takia Palmer, Talia Palmer, Jasmine Torres, JaDerrika Welch-Fields, Sutton Manatt, TaVieon Neal, Deshawn Roberts, Falon Short, Jordan Smith and Patrick Young.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling but overall I’m super grateful for everything this journey has had to offer,” Neal said. “This was a pivotal meet for me this season and I can’t wait to see what’s next for both myself and the team.”
Head coach J.P. Behnke said: “It’s always fun to compete in front of our home crowd… With much cooler temperatures and rain on Saturday… regardless this group competed hard.” Most Trojans will have next week off while select distance runners travel to Iowa for Drake Relays April 23–24.
