Saturday, January 18
Ann Arbor, MI
All Day
Michigan State University
at
Simmons-Harvey Invitational
Track and Field Has Strong Performances at Simmons-Harvey Invitational
1/18/2020 4:48:00 PM | Track and Field
MSU earns six event titles against top Big Ten competition at Saturday’s meet.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan State track and field had a strong performance at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational on Saturday afternoon, competing against Big Ten opponents Michigan and Ohio State at the U-M Indoor Track Facility.
Six Spartans earned event titles among top Big Ten competition, compiled of three wins on the track and three in the field events.
This was the Spartans first return to competition following the holiday break after inclement weather last weekend caused MSU to not be able to travel to their scheduled meet in Ann Arbor.
"We didn't have a meet last week and a lot of teams did; you sort of work through some of the things that get the better of you in your first meet. There's no pressure, and you just get going," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth said. "We didn't have that as an advantage but no matter what the circumstances are, you still have control over your own behavior and I don't think we embraced that entirely either with our team."
The Michigan State distance crew led the way for the Spartans, with senior Jeralyn Poe, graduate transfer Sarah Anderson and junior Morgan Beadlescomb earning titles in their first meet of the indoor track season.
Beadlescomb and Poe continued their successes from the cross country course, to earn first-place finishes in their respective events. Beadlescomb kicked things off on the track by winning the men's mile with a time of 4:11.94, pulling away down the final stretch for the first-place finish.
Poe set a Simmons-Harvey Invitational meet record and topped her personal-best in the 3,000m, clocking in at 9:19.82. Poe and Michigan's Erica VanderLende battled throughout the first 1,500m before Poe pulled away and never looked back to best her previous career-best by over seven seconds.
Competing in her first race as a Spartan, Anderson captured the women's 800m title, clocking in at 2:10.14, for the seventh-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
Also on the track, senior Annie Fuller placed second in the women's mile, with a time of 4:48.54, while junior Brayden Law also placed second in the men's 3,000m run, clocking in at 8:29.47.
"The distance runners were very good today. Asya Reynolds was very good today; she won the long jump. The women's pole vaulters were very good going 1-2-3; that's a good deal. There were some places where the people we would expect to do well, did well," Drenth said. "We really need people that are capable of scoring in the conference meet to do well on a regular basis and we weren't that today. I also thought it got hard at the end of the meet because for a number of us we just didn't find a way to run the race or compete in full. They've got to get better at it, and we've got to practice it."
On the field, three Spartans earned victories - junior Sophia Franklin in the women's pole vault, junior Rebecca Mammel in the weight throw and senior Asya Reynolds in the women's long jump.
Mammel won her second weight throw title of the indoor season, with a mark of 21.10m. Mammel garnered her first weight throw title at the GVSU Holiday Open on Dec. 6.
Reynolds earned the women's long jump title with a jump of 5.86m. Earlier in the meet, Reynolds advanced to the finals of the women's 60m hurdles, placing fourth overall.
The Spartan women pole vaulters displayed their dominance as they went 1-2-3 in the event. Franklin, the current MSU indoor pole vault record holder, placed first with a mark of 3.88m. Sophomores Calli Ostapowicz and Libby Jefferson placed second and third respectively, with marks of 3.88m and 3.73m.
Also in the field events, sophomore Trevor Stephenson placed second in the men's pole vault, notching a jump of 4.75m. Junior Kayli Johnson placed third in the shot put, with a throw of 15.27m.
"It's a great meet and there were some positives today with still having six event wins, but we have to be better going forward and that's our expectation," Drenth said.
// UP NEXT //
The Spartans return to Ann Arbor for the Power Five Invitational from Jan. 31-Feb. 1, competing against Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Six Spartans earned event titles among top Big Ten competition, compiled of three wins on the track and three in the field events.
This was the Spartans first return to competition following the holiday break after inclement weather last weekend caused MSU to not be able to travel to their scheduled meet in Ann Arbor.
"We didn't have a meet last week and a lot of teams did; you sort of work through some of the things that get the better of you in your first meet. There's no pressure, and you just get going," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth said. "We didn't have that as an advantage but no matter what the circumstances are, you still have control over your own behavior and I don't think we embraced that entirely either with our team."
The Michigan State distance crew led the way for the Spartans, with senior Jeralyn Poe, graduate transfer Sarah Anderson and junior Morgan Beadlescomb earning titles in their first meet of the indoor track season.
Beadlescomb and Poe continued their successes from the cross country course, to earn first-place finishes in their respective events. Beadlescomb kicked things off on the track by winning the men's mile with a time of 4:11.94, pulling away down the final stretch for the first-place finish.
Poe set a Simmons-Harvey Invitational meet record and topped her personal-best in the 3,000m, clocking in at 9:19.82. Poe and Michigan's Erica VanderLende battled throughout the first 1,500m before Poe pulled away and never looked back to best her previous career-best by over seven seconds.
Competing in her first race as a Spartan, Anderson captured the women's 800m title, clocking in at 2:10.14, for the seventh-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
Also on the track, senior Annie Fuller placed second in the women's mile, with a time of 4:48.54, while junior Brayden Law also placed second in the men's 3,000m run, clocking in at 8:29.47.
"The distance runners were very good today. Asya Reynolds was very good today; she won the long jump. The women's pole vaulters were very good going 1-2-3; that's a good deal. There were some places where the people we would expect to do well, did well," Drenth said. "We really need people that are capable of scoring in the conference meet to do well on a regular basis and we weren't that today. I also thought it got hard at the end of the meet because for a number of us we just didn't find a way to run the race or compete in full. They've got to get better at it, and we've got to practice it."
On the field, three Spartans earned victories - junior Sophia Franklin in the women's pole vault, junior Rebecca Mammel in the weight throw and senior Asya Reynolds in the women's long jump.
Mammel won her second weight throw title of the indoor season, with a mark of 21.10m. Mammel garnered her first weight throw title at the GVSU Holiday Open on Dec. 6.
Reynolds earned the women's long jump title with a jump of 5.86m. Earlier in the meet, Reynolds advanced to the finals of the women's 60m hurdles, placing fourth overall.
The Spartan women pole vaulters displayed their dominance as they went 1-2-3 in the event. Franklin, the current MSU indoor pole vault record holder, placed first with a mark of 3.88m. Sophomores Calli Ostapowicz and Libby Jefferson placed second and third respectively, with marks of 3.88m and 3.73m.
Also in the field events, sophomore Trevor Stephenson placed second in the men's pole vault, notching a jump of 4.75m. Junior Kayli Johnson placed third in the shot put, with a throw of 15.27m.
"It's a great meet and there were some positives today with still having six event wins, but we have to be better going forward and that's our expectation," Drenth said.
// UP NEXT //
The Spartans return to Ann Arbor for the Power Five Invitational from Jan. 31-Feb. 1, competing against Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles/Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and FieldProcess Oriented | Spartans All-Access
Wednesday, April 02
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championship recap
Monday, May 13
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championships highlights
Saturday, May 11
Track & Field | Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Day 2
Saturday, May 11