The Kent State Track and Field team saw its athletes post historical program marks over the weekend at the Doug Raymond Invitational. The invitational took place from Friday to Saturday and was hosted by Kent State.
The star of the meet for the Flashes was sophomore Amryne Chilton, who set the program record for the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.44 seconds. Chilton broke a long-standing record (7.46) that was last set by Katie Reiser in 2013, who was in attendance to see her record broken.
“Our sprints coach is trying to get her to peak at the right time,” coach Nathan Fanger said. “Instead of popping off early, we’re trying to get ready for the conference championship.”
Chilton also ran the 4×400 meter relay alongside Alexandria Verbancic, Ella Baker, and Marinna Atanmo. The four Flashes propelled themselves to a first place finish of 3:46.61.
Sophomore Keeli Dunaway continued to build on her strong start to the season this weekend, setting her third personal record of the season with a mark of 41’-5.75” in the women’s triple jump. This mark was good enough for fourth place in Kent State program history.
Six Flashes placed within the top-six in the women’s 60-meter hurdles. The event saw redshirt junior Gabrielle Hammonds take home a PR of 8.62 seconds, good enough for first in the event.
Under the leadership of junior Karsyn Spears, three Flashes made up the top three spots in the women’s 800-meter run. Spears took first with a mark of 2:11.68, with senior Anna Jones and junior Nicole Kuehner coming in second and third place, respectively.
The final event win for the women came from redshirt senior Aliesha Shaw, who threw a mark of 48’-6” in the women’s shot put.
Sophomore Sean Callahan Jr. claimed an individual event win, posting a time of 6.84 seconds in the men’s 60-meter dash. Callahan also finished second in the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 21.78 seconds.
Junior Amare Hall jumped for 24’-0.75”, good enough for the win in the men’s long jump.
Graduate student Ethan Yost also took home a first place finish for the Flashes, with a time of 14:46 flat in the men’s 5,000-meter run.
In the men’s weight throw, redshirt junior Donovan Crawford threw a mark of 63’-5”, good enough for second in the meet.
Fabio Justo, Logan Doyle, Beau Harkelroad, and Owen Miller won the men’s 4x400m relay, finishing with a time of 3:17 flat.
“The men did fine,” Fanger said. “They all have to have meets where they excel in.”
The Kent State track team will head to Ashland to compete at the AU Last Chance meet on Saturday. This will be the final meet before the Flashes compete at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships.
The Doug Raymond Invitational was also a cause for celebration for the Flashes, as this meet marked 50 years of varsity status for female track and field athletes at KSU.
“It was really special to see generational female athletes to come and see a track meet, ” Fanger said.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.