Lakehawk Track & Field Competes at Legends of Alachua County
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Track & Field) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) track & field teams continue their indoor campaign at the Legends of Alachua County Invitational at Celebration Pointe. In the two-day meet, the Lakehawks continue to make significant progress in their events.
This weekend's meet served as an early-season test produced multiple top-10 finishes, indoor personal records (PR), and several school records.
On the men's side, the Lakehawks made a strong showing across middle-distance and field events.
In the 800m, Spencer Palmer ran a PR of 1:53.57, placing eighth overall and snagged a school record. Palmer competed in the first heat, which went out at a very fast pace from the opening lap.
In the second heat, Elijah Palmer and Noah Kaegi navigated a highly physical and unevenly paced race. Despite the challenging conditions, Palmer took 10th with a time of 1:56.72 followed by Kaegi at 1:57.51.
S. Palmer also competed in the mile. He placed seventh overall with a time of 4:17.20 to establish a new school record in the event.
Mark Fyffe placed third in the long jump with a mark of 7.17m, joining Palmer to establish a new school record in the event. Jeremiah Wiley placed seventh with a PR of 6.66m and Gabriel Graham rounded out the group with a mark of 6.08m.
Head Coach Cristy Snellgroves shared her thoughts, "I am really proud of Spencer and how he is racing with confidence and grit. Elijah is learning the tactics of indoor racing and I know he will come back stronger from this meet."
"The jumpers performed well, and Mark has jumped 7.50 in outdoor previously, so I look forward to continuing to build and Chris ran a great leg of the DMR, consistently running 48-seocnd splits, and I am excited to see him in open races."
On the women's side, the Lakehawks continue to show steady improvement across sprints, middle-distance, and jumps.
Oksanna Smith delivered a strong performance in the 400m, placing seventh overall with a PR and school record time of 58.95. She also ran the 200m in 26.13 to establish a school record in her first time competing in the event.
In the field events, Amaya Mitchell placed second overall in the high jump with a mark of 1.56m. In the pole vault, Leah Sowers cleared the 2.95m mark.
Jaden Miller continued her strong start to the season, placing fourth in the long jump with a mark of 5.62m for fourth place in the event. She also placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.06m for a PR and school record.
"The women continue to improve and show great camaraderie."
"Jaden has now put together back-to-back weeks of personal bests. Oksanna is definitely ready to run fast, and the women's middle-distance group is working well together."
Teams will take the week to prepare for their final indoor meet next weekend in Gainesville, Fla.
Follow the Lakehawks
Follow @LakehawkSports on Twitter, @LakehawkSports on Instagram and Lake-Sumter State College Athletics on Facebook for the latest news with Lakehawk athletics.