MUS Sports News

Track Team Defeats Eagles

The varsity track team endured unstable weather conditions yesterday and performed well as they bested a talented ECS squad in a dual meet held yesterday at MUS.

The Owls had twelve first-place finishes as they posted the 109-76 victory.

First-place individual winners included seniors Ken Haltom (3200, 1600, 800), Lee Moore (110 hurdles, 200), Clement Oigbokie (100), and Ian Thomas (discus); junior Chris Taylor (high jump); and sophomores Jared Davis (triple jump) and Barret Folk (pole vault).  Relay winners included the 4x100 team (Miles Bryant, Moore, Hank Hill, and Oigbokie) and the 4x200 team (Davis, Hill, Michael Folk, and Taylor).

The Owls travel this weekend for their next competition as they head to Clarksville, Tennessee, and Austin Peay State University. 

For complete ECS meet results, click here.

Track Team Bests Briarcrest, Rossville

The varsity track team competed against Briarcrest and Rossville yesterday in a meet at MUS. The Owls preformed well as they won the meet with 159 points, besting Briarcrest's 88 and Rossville's 13.

Senior Lee Moore set a long-standing school record in the 400-meters with a time of 48.53. He also won the 110 hurdles.

Other Owls to finish first in their events included seniors Ken Haltom in the 3200, 1600, and 800; Clement Oigbokie in the 100 and 200-meter races; and Ian Thomas in the discus; sophomore Barret Folk in the pole vault; and freshman Stephond Allmond in the triple jump.

MUS next competes in a dual meet against ECS next Tuesday, April 10, at MUS.

For complete results of the Briarcrest and Rossville meet, click here.

Moore Competes At National Meet

Senior Lee Moore competed in the Nike Indoor Nationals, the nation's premier high school indoor event, in Washington, D.C. several weeks ago.

Moore competed in the 400-meter dash, finishing sixth in a field of some of the country's top runners. His finished earned him a place on American Track and Field Magazine's All-American team.

Click here to watch a video of Moore's performance.

Track Team Prepares For Regional Competition

As the varsity track team prepares for the postseason next week, they can now look back on a successful April that ended at the Kenwood Invitational.

This invitational was the last regular-season competition in which teams recorded scores. The Owls took full advantage of the meet to gain momentum going into the postseason. 

The individual performances put up by the Owls in Clarksville met the standards they have been setting all year for themselves. 

Senior Andrew Gordon continued his fine performances in the shot put by throwing another fifty-footer and taking first place.

Also, junior Kimani Shotwell continued to be one of the Owls’ top field athletes, earning another first-place finish in the discus event.

MUS runners also contributed greatly to the team’s victory. 

Junior Ken Haltom ran a 4:26 mile, only one second shy of his season best, and earned first place. 

Additionally, junior Clement Oigbokie won the 400m dash. Then he went on to lead the 4x400m relay team to a first-place finish; the team consisted of Oigbokie, Miles Bryant, Ken Haltom, and Lee Moore.

The Owls will take the momentum from the Kenwood and bring it back home where they now are training for the upcoming Regional Track Meet.

Also, sophomore Sam Goldstein represented MUS in the Regional Decathlon this week. Goldstein finished sixth after all ten events had been completed. 

“I didn’t have my best performances, but it still was good experience,” said the sophomore, who has shown tremendous potential throughout the season.

The Regional Track Meet begins Tuesday, May 16, and ends May 18 at Briarcrest Christian School.

Track Sets Records At Germantown

Last weekend, the MUS varsity track team participated in the Germantown Invitational.  The Owls went into the meet with plenty of momentum, having already won two meets in April.

Both track and field participants had strong performances at the meet. 

In the discus, junior Kimani Shotwell finished first with a throw of over 140 feet, and fellow junior Ian Thomas was only five feet behind him, taking second. 

Andrew Gordon and Allie Folk finished in third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. 

Other third-place field finishes were achieved by Devin Owens in the triple jump and Sam Goldstein in the pole vault.

The MUS runners had a memorable day at Germantown as two school records were broken. 

The first came when junior Lee Moore ran the 300m hurdles in 38.72 seconds, breaking a long-standing Owls’ record. 

Then, the 4x400m relay team broke that school record by running the full four laps in 3:22.26.  The team was made up of all juniors, including Clement Oigbokie, Miles Bryant, Ken Haltom, and Moore.

At the end of the day, the Owls walked away with second place overall in the invitational. 

This weekend the Owls will be in Clarksville for the Kenwood Invitational.

Track Represents In Oxford And Eads

Even with the storms and threats of tornadoes, the varsity track team competed in the Ole Miss Invitational last Friday and Saturday.

The Owls started the meet strong, but the weather forced an early ending. Although they completed only ten events before the bad weather, the Owls finished in second place with some good showings in distance and field events.

Junior Ken Haltom won the 1600m race with a time of 4:25.52, a very fine time.  His teammate, senior Donald McClure, finished fourth in the race, but he was not outdone as he won the 3200m race, running a 9:52.19.

In field events, senior Andrew Gordon claimed second in the shot, while teammate Allie Folk, a junior, placed seventh before the storms halted the meet.

Several days before the Oxford meet, the Owls competed in a local meet at Briarcrest Christian School.

The Owls had some great individual performances that led to the first-place finish at BCS. 

Several Owls finished first in their events, driving the team to victory, and the most help came from those who not only placed first but also were awarded five points. 

Five-point scorers included junior Drew Alston in the discus, Gordon in the shot put, Haltom in the 3200m run, McClure in the 1600m run, junior Lee Moore in the 300m hurdles, and junior Clement Oigbokie in the 800m run.  Also, the Owls top 4x400, 4x200, and 4x100-meter relay teams all took first and scored five points.

This season, the track team has the unique obstacle to overcome as they have no home meets scheduled because of the construction on a new stadium. However, the Owls enjoy competing on foreign tracks to perform their best. 

The next invitational for MUS in the Germantown Invitational on April 21-22 at Germantown High School.

Track Team Gains Experience Away From Home

The varsity track team has moved into the second half of their season as they are developing some depth and gaining some experience.

This year has been unusual as Coach Alston and the team have not been able to host any events because of the construction taking place on the football stadium. Consequently, the team has been on the road throughout the season, competing in new meets for them. 

Despite being away from home, the Owls have performed very well as they have not finished worse than fifth in any of their first six meets, including first-place finishes at St. Benedict and at Briarcrest.

Some of the key field contributors so far this year have included seniors Andrew Cabigao, Andrew Gordon, Devin Owens, and Will Thornton; juniors Drew Alston, Allie Folk, and Ian Thomas; sophomores Sam Goldstein and Nathaniel Kastan; and freshmen Jared Davis and Barret Folk.

Key sprinters have included seniors Philippe Blais and Hugh Francis; juniors Miles Bryant, Lee Moore, and Clement Oigbokie; and freshmen Will Benton, Robert Cowan, Michael Folk, and Lowell Hays.

And distance contributors so far this season have included seniors Matt Dowling, Oliver Green, and Donald McClure; juniors Stephen Counce and Ken Haltom; and sophomore Josh Vieira.

The Owls' next meet is this Thursday, April 13, at ECS as they will take on the host Eagles and SBEC. The region meet will take place at Briarcrest this year and be held May 17-19.

Track and Field Ends Season at Local Spring Fling

The 2003 track-and-field season ended in a place it had never ended before -- at the Briarcrest Sports Complex in east Shelby County.

With the TSSAA spring-sport state tournaments moving to Memphis for the first time in many years, the Owl state track qualifiers got to stay at home to compete, and they performed well.

Both Andrew Hooser and John David Lawhorn finished third and got the team six points each. Hooser, a junior, got his third place in the shot put by throwing 49'-11 1/2''. Sophomore Lawhorn, who finished tenth one week earlier in the state decathlon, ran third in the 300-meter hurdles. He also finished fourth in the 110-meter high-hurdles and eighth in the long jump, totaling twelve points overall for the Owls.

Other MUS athletes placed at state as well. Senior Collins Roll ran the 400-meter dash in 51.61 seconds, finishing fourth. Roll also anchored the Owls' 4x800-meter relay team, which finished fifth, about five seconds out of first. Other members of that team included freshman Matt Dowling, junior Brad Spicer, and senior Will Hunt.

Todd Jean-Pierre, a junior, also brought home a fifth-place finish and four team points in the discus as he threw 136'-8'', and sophomore Walker Pritchard placed fifth in the 100-meter dash, running it in 11.31 seconds.

Rounding out the MUS team was senior Will Hunt. Hunt competed in the 800-meter run, and he finished it in 2:04.77, giving him seventh place. As a team the Owls finished eighth, tallying 37 total points.

After having lost several key seniors last season, the team knew it would have a difficult time matching the success that the program was used to. Yet several young performers stepped up to gain invaluable experience and make the Owls competitive throughout.

MUS placed fourth out of seventeen teams at the Briarcrest Multi-Meet to begin the year, beating some very good teams from across the state. The Owls also got a third-place finish at the Harding Invitational, including several first-place finishes. The long-jump team, consisting of sophomore Rob Heflin, who also qualified for the state decathlon and finished eleventh, freshman Devin Owens, and Lawhorn, finished first. Also, two relay teams came out on top. Junior Neil Taylor and sophomores Kane Alber, Pritchard, and Lawhorn won the 4x100-meter relay, while the 4x400-meter relay team, made up of Alber, Lawhorn, Hunt, and Roll, came in first as well.

MUS also won some key dual meets against some AAA schools. The Owls handily defeated Germantown and Collierville during the year to prepare them for the postseason meets.

The youth of this team creates some excitement for the future as sophomore participants dominated many of the events this season. Also, several freshman made the jump to varsity and performed very well. Hunter Adams showed his potential to be an outstanding distance runner with some fine efforts this season. Also, athletes like Owens, Rob Peeler, and Will Pickens competed in varsity meets. With this youth and the experience gained from the regular season and the postseason meets, the program will return soon to competing for postseason titles.