ATLANTA, Ga. - Spring Hill College track and field saw a school record broken and 13 personal bests fall at the Southern Miss. Invitational on Saturday.

John Abate broke the 110m hurdles record with a time of 15.21. The record was held by Maurice Abdur-Rahim (15.92) since 2013. Another highlight at the meet for the Badgers came when Madeline Knighlty placed second in the 5,000m after stopping the clock at 20:51.65. The race marked her first appearance in the event this season.

The Badgers set 13 personal bests across the men's and women's teams at the meet. Other top marks included Tiana Smith taking fifth in the triple jump with a 10.62m mark, Abate (1.94m) placing sixth in the high jump and DiMya Evans finishing seventh in the triple jump with a 10.32m attempt. Another noteable performance came from Grant Nastasi, who clocked a 22.74 in the 200m, just .04 seconds shy of the school record.

They Said It — Head Coach Craig McVey
On the meet
"Friday/Saturday were two really good days for us at Southern Miss. It was again a large meet with more than 25 athletes competing in many events. We keep competing and preparing to compete better and better each week. Wind may be the common denominator this Spring as we had strong winds Friday (20-25 mph) and consistent moderate winds 12-18 mph on Saturday. Wind again didn't seem to get in the way of personal bests, we had a bunch again this week."  

On the men's events
"John rolled in the 110 m hurdles and broke a long-standing record set in 2013, one of our oldest school records. It's a nice mark, but we know he'll go faster. He was in a tough high jump field, his 6th this week was in a better field and was a much better jump. Grant ran a great 200m into a headwind on the turn, a great effort. His 22.74 is only .04 off of our school record, just a really great effort."

On the women's events
"Maddie's 5,000m was her first of our outdoor season. Saturday was about racing at that distance, running what she did on a really windy day was a great way to prep for our conference meet. Grabbing second in the race was a bonus.She'll be in a position to be racing for all-conference honors at our outdoor championships in the 5,000m. Tiana and DiMya, were again consistent in the triple jump. The triple jump was an event loaded with quality people competing. Tiana's jump was only 3 cm off of her college personal best. For both to make the final was a big plus."

Looking ahead
"Next weekend on April 8th we'll have our only "home" meet of the season as we compete at USA [University of South Alabama] in the Mobile Invitational. Leaving travel behind and being in Mobile is something we're all looking forward to."

Up Next
The Badger will compete in the Mobile Invitational on April 8.


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