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The Murray State News

The Murray State News

The Murray State News

Track starts 2021 at Boo Rogers Combine Events

Sophomore+Meghan+Fletcher+competes+in+the+high+jump+at+the+Boo+Rogers+Combine+Events.+Fletcher+went+on+to+finish+first+in+the+high+jump+and+fifth+in+the+competition.+%28Photo+courtesy+of+Racer+Athletics%29
Sophomore Meghan Fletcher competes in the high jump at the Boo Rogers Combine Events. Fletcher went on to finish first in the high jump and fifth in the competition. (Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics)

Simon Elfrink

Sports Editor

[email protected]

Four members of Murray State track and field competed at the Boo Rogers Combine Events in Pittsburg, Kansas, on Friday, Jan. 15, to kick off the 2021 season. 

Redshirt junior Jessikha Ribeiro finished fifth among 13 competitors in the pentathlon with 3117 points, while sophomore Jenna Pauly placed eighth with a score of 2900. Sophomore Meghan Fletcher finished tenth overall, but took a first place victory during the high jump competition with a mark of 1.63m. Ribeiro and Pauly tied for second in the high jump at 1.60m each. Sophomore Anna Vollet’s high jump mark was 1.42m. 

In the 60m hurdles, Ribeiro and Fletcher crossed the finish line within the same second with times of 9.52 and 9.54, respectively. The two Racers earned the fourth and fifth places in that segment of the competition. Meanwhile, Pauly came in seventh with a time of 9.71.

Vollet also competed in the 60m hurdles but did not finish the competition because of an injury that Head Coach Adam Kiesler said was minor. Still, early on in the season, Kiesler did not want to push Vollet to continue for risk of further injury. 

“She’ll be okay,” Kiesler said. “If this is the OVC Championship then maybe we go a little bit deeper into the competition, but it is not an OVC Championship. Unfortunately, it happens in our sport, but at this point in our season there is no need.”

In the shot put, Ribeiro led the Racers once again with a distance of 10.15m, earning her fourth place in the competition. Pauly marked at 8.96m and came in eighth, while Fletcher placed ninth at 8.50m.

The long jump featured Pauly and Ribeiro for the Racers, who placed sixth and seventh respectively. Pauly jumped 5.05m while Ribeiro’s mark was at 4.95m. Fletcher placed 10th overall at 4.71m. 

The 800m dash was a lackluster leg of the pentathlon for the Racers, with only Ribeiro finishing in the top ten. Ribeiro took the eighth place spot with a time of 2:47.26. Pauly and Fletcher placed 11th and 12th, respectively, with  times of 3:00.33 and 3:07.22. 

Kiesler said the main goal of this first competition was to knock the rust off and give his players an opportunity to compete early on. The Racers had only been back on campus for ten days before the competition, and Kiesler said it showed in the competition’s results. Still, Kiesler was pleased overall with his four-person squad’s overall performance. 

“I think there are definitely things they can improve on,” Kiesler said. “Overall I think you can tell we’ve only been on campus for 10 days, [but] I think they’ll improve, and you can always take away things from a competition, good or bad. Overall I think it was awesome.”

The Racers will continue to train for their next competition on  Jan. 30 when they will travel to Huntington, West Virginia, for the Thundering Herd Invite and the Marshall Invite.

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