The Kent State track and field team headed east to Slippery Rock, Pa., over the past weekend to compete at the Dave Labor Invitational for the Flashes’ second outdoor track meet of 2025. For the majority of the 60 Kent State athletes that were registered to compete in the Keystone State, the meet was their first ever outdoor competition.
The starting events for Kent State were the hurdle races, which the Flashes easily handled, taking four more event wins back to Portage County.
Junior Svenia De Coninck and redshirt sophomore Marinna Atanmo recorded new personal records over the weekend, with De Coninck taking first in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.51 and Atanmo coming in at 1:02.03, which was good enough for first in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
On the men’s side, freshmen Linkon Tyrrell and Beau Harkelroad matched De Coninck and Atanmo with their own first place hurdles finishes, with Tyrrell taking the men’s 100-meter hurdles in just under 15 seconds and Harkelroad taking the men’s 400-meter hurdles in just about 55 seconds.
Taking the final track event wins was senior Sydney Miller and freshman Nora Salem, who took the top spots in the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs, respectively.
In the field events, junior jumper Amare Hall leapt for a PR in the men’s long jump, taking first in the meet with a mark of 24’-4.25”.
For KSU’s throwers, redshirt junior Donovan Crawford unleashed a bomb of a throw in the men’s hammer throw coming in at a whopping 188’-6” meters.
In the women’s discus, redshirt senior Aliesha Shaw would capture another first place mark for Kent State in Slippery Rock with Shaw spinning for a mark of 157’ flat.
Then in the women’s javelin, freshman Kristen Jay would perform in a debut she’ll never forget. In her first track meet as a member of the Flashes, Jay would touch down on a mark of 156’ flat to take first among all throwers in the event.
What’s next?
The Flashes will travel to Durham, N.C., to compete in the Duke Invitational held Thursday through Saturday for competition against the Blue Devils and other programs.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.