Team Effort Completes Competition at UK

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's Linnie Yarbrough and JJ Sturm finished as the top collegians in their respective events and a pair of newcomers contributed to a solid team performance on the second and final day of competition at the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Ky.

Yarbrough placed third in the 60-meter hurdles, running 7.92 in the finals behind a pair of professionals. Sturm was second in the long jump with a mark of 23-4.

Newcomers Van Tonio Fraley and Stephanie Tamgho also placed in the top four in their events, athletes who joined the team this week for the spring semester.

Fraley finished third in the 60-meters in a time of 6.80, behind winner and former Blue Raider Mardy Scales, who ran 6.70 in the finals. Scales also placed second in the 200-meters in a time of 21.16.

Tamgho joined freshman Sierra Douglas in the top four in the long jump, with Douglas placing second with a mark of 18-6.5 and Tamgho fourth with a mark of 18-4.25. KeKe Deckard finished eighth in the event with a mark of 17-8. Also in the field events for the Lady Raiders, Laetitia Florimond was fourth in the shot put with a mark of 44-1.5.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Wesley Dupar-Scott, Fraley, Sturm and Yarbrough came in seventh in a time of 3:17.56. Another former Blue Raider, Godfrey Herring, also had a good showing in the 400-meters with a second-place finish in 47.16.

"I thought we had a good day, especially with all of the teams [from the Sun Belt] really trying to piece it together," head coach Dean Hayes said. "We're still getting the kinks out and trying to figure out a lot of things.

"With school not starting yet, I thought we did well and got some good contributions from Van Tonio and Stephanie, and Linnie and JJ did well and the relay was good for four guys really just thrown together."

Both teams will take part in the Blue Raider Invitational next Saturday at Murphy Center, the second of four indoor meets at home this season.

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