RESULTS
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The 4x100-meter relay team of Shantel Llewellyn, Pernell Joseph, Kimsue Grant and Kara-Aretha Graham took third during the final day of the Kansas Relays, Saturday, April 23, in Lawrence, Kan.
The group finished in 46.59 seconds, besting their qualifying time (46.98) set Friday. The third-place performance came in a field of eight.
Fellow finals qualifiers Sydney Peavy and the 4x400-meter relay team were sixth and seventh, respectively, Saturday. Peavy ran a 25.44-second time in the 200-meter dash, while the relay team of Llewellyn, Ariel Butzine, Joseph and Graham was seventh at 3:58.26 minutes.
In the seeded portion of the 800-meter run, Butzine placed sixth in a time of 2:15.75 minutes.
Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Ronald Boyce's team next will be back in action with a split squad weekend. Some Bears will compete at the prestigious Drake Relays, while most will take to the Kip Janvrin Open. Both meets open Thursday, April 28.
FRIDAY, APRIL 22
With day three of the Kansas Relays in the books, the second day for Bears' athletes, the track and field Bears added two solid field finishes and four finals qualifiers to their haul.
Junior Jeláni Kelly (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) threw an impressive 47-06.25 feet in the shot put. The personal best earned her a fifth-place finish in a talented field.
Jordan Bond (So., Normal, Ill.) was fifth in the high jump with a 5-03.00 height. It is the third top-five finish in the last two meets for Bond.
The Bears had a pair of sprinters qualify for the finals in the 200-meter dash. Shantel Llewellyn (Sr., Ajax, Ontario) and Sydney Peavy (Fr., Kansas City, Mo.) used 25.35- and 25.19-second finishes, respectively, to earn spots in Saturday's finals.
Llewellyn later teamed with Kimsue Grant (So., Arlington, Va.), Kara-Aretha Graham (Sr., London, England) and Pernell Joseph (Fr., Vieux Fort, St. Lucia) to put the 4x100-meter relay team in the finals. The team finished in 46.98 seconds, which is the fastest time by an MSU group this season.
The 4x400-meter relay team joined the 4x100 team in Saturday's finals with an eighth-place preliminary finish. The group of Llewellyn, Ariel Butzine (So., Lake Villa, Ill.), Joseph and Graham finished in 3:52.47 minutes
THURSDAY, APRIL 21
It was distance day at the Kansas Relays, with nine Bears' competing in three events during the meet's second day. Theresa Brokaw (Sr., Stronghurst, Ill.), Emily Beaver (So., Diamond, Mo.) and Erin Edwards (Fr., Kansas City, Mo.) each produced a top-five finish.
Two weeks after winning the event at the Tom Botts Invitational, Brokaw finished third in the 3,000-meter run. Her personal best of 9:47.34 minutes put her on the podium in the field of 10.
Beaver and Edwards finished second and fifth, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Beaver ran a 17:22.72-minute time, which is the seventh-fastest mark of any Missouri Valley Conference runner this season. Edwards crossed the finish line in 17:46.54, which is also a top-ten performance from an MVC runner.
