Feb. 10, 2017 Don Kirby Invitational Friday Results
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV track & field program completed its first day of the Don Kirby Invitational with another win in the high jump by Kaysee Pilgrim and strong showings from Mandy Chitwood and Jaela Williams in the long jump, respectively. The two-day meet is being held at the Albuquerque Convention Center that is also the site of the Mountain West's Indoor Championships in two weekends.
Pilgrim took top honors, once again, in the high jump with a measurement of 5-10.75 (1.80m) -- the second best performance by a MW student-athlete this season. Last week, she was first amongst collegiate competitors at Nebraska's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational with a mark of 5-10 (1.78m).
Chitwood claimed second in the 600m in 1:31.64, a time that only improved her second-place standing in the program's all-time performance list for the event.
Williams finished fifth overall in the long jump, and she did so with a mark of 19-8.5 (6.01m). With the help of that distance, she moved from 10th to third in the MW.
UNLV had three of its own finish in the top 20 of the 200m, a race that had 28 heats and117 entrants. Destiny Smith-Barnett took ninth in 24.15 while Kaysha Love and Drea Austin were 17th (24.29) and 20th (24.39), respectively.
A pair of Rebels that looked to improve in their respective events did so Friday. Ayana Gales ran a time of 7.61 in the 60m while Stella Clemens registered a distance of 18-5 (5.61m) in the long jump. Gales entered the weekend ranked first in the MW in the long jump (20-3/6.17m) and eighth in the triple jump (38-6/11.73m). Clemens sits second in the pentathlon after a 3,585 point haul last week in Nebraska.
The Scarlet & Gray continue at the Don Kirby Invitational Saturday with entrants in eight events: 60m, 60m hurdles, 400m, 800m, mile, triple jump, shot put and 4x400m relay.
Ones to watch Saturday are Austin and Love in the 60m, Taylor Pegram, Amari Norris and Jaela Williams in the 60m hurdles, Vanessa Sierra in the shot put and the two 4x400m relay squads.
