NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Life University Track & Field team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Outdoor Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University. The Running Eagles were put to the test, but ultimately prevailed, leaving the venue with multiple personal bests, as well as five single-A standard and two single-B standard marks.

Day 1

Getting things started for the Running Eagles on Day One was junior Zaria Bonafede as she competed in the women's long jump event. Bonafede finished 22nd overall after marking a distance of 4.85 meters. Sophomore Payton Knowles got the running underway for the women as she competed in the 200-meter dash. Knowles finished 28th overall, after running a time of 25.42. In the 1500-meter run, junior Emeline Delaville placed sixth overall after running a single-A standard and personal-best time of 4:26.19.

Day One for the men got started as junior Khalil Carr competed in the men's long jump event. Carr placed sixth overall with a mark of 6.84 meters. On the track, freshman Lasse Klopprogge got the running started for the men as he placed 19th overall in the 3000-meter steeplechase event. Klopprogge ran a time of 10:12.66. In the 1500-meter run, freshman Josh McKinlay placed 24th overall after running a personal-best time of 3:52.70. Junior Elie Penitzka placed 40th in the event after running a personal-best time of 3:58.69, while freshman Julien Jansen placed 43rd overall after running a personal best time of 4:00.08.

Day 2

In the field on Day Two for the women, sophomore Annalise Leitner got things started after placing 14th overall in the hammer throw event with a mark of 44.80 meters.

On the track for the women, the relay team of Payton Knowles, Zaria Bonafede, Najah Gibson and Cameron Kelperis got the running underway as they placed fifth overall in the 4x100 meter relay event. The ladies ran a single-A standard and season-best time of 46.18. Gibson returned to the track later in the day as she competed in the 400 meter dash. Gibson went on to place 12th overall after running a single-B standard and personal-best time of 55.78. Freshman Kamarra Trisch also competed in the event and placed 36th overall after her personal-best time of 58.29. In the 100-meter dash open, Kelperis ran a time of 12.01 in the prelims. Later in the day Kelperis would run 11.96 in the finals for a fifth-place finish. While Bonafede placed 15th overall after running a wind-legal, personal-best time of 12.15.

Freshman Shevaughn Thomas competed in the 400-meter hurdle race, and placed second overall, finishing in a time of 58.69, which is also a single-A standard mark. In the last individual event of the evening, senior Kyja Williams and freshman Maelle Spiegel competed against a stack field in the 800-meter run. Williams finished 37th overall after running a time of 2:18.61, while Spiegel finished 47th overall after running a time of 2:22.44. In the final event of the meet, the Running Eagles put together the relay team of Trisch, Gibson, Thomas and Emeline Delaville to compete in the 4x400 meter relay event. The athletes would finish second overall against multiple division one programs after running a single-A standard time of 3:44.79.

On the men's side, juniors Keondre Glover and Braden Deal placed second and third overall in the high jump event. Glover finished with a mark of 2.05 meters, while Deal marked 1.95 meters. 

Life U put together a relay team of Sammy Samuel, Drew Pochylko, Jeremiah Giddens and Khalil Carr to compete in the 4x100 meter relay event, where they placed sixth overall after running a time of 41.51. In the 400-meter dash event, the Running Eagles had three athletes compete, headlined by a top-10 finish courtesy of senior sprinter Giddens and his personal-best time of 48.06. Trailing behind Giddens was fellow senior Gray McIntyre who placed 14th overall, running a time of 48.81, while freshman Omar Bajo finished 21st overall after running 49.61. In the 100-meter dash, Samuel ran a qualifying time of 10.77 in prelims, before running a sixth place time of 10.73 in the finals.

Senior Sean Hewitt took to the track as he competed in the 400-meter hurdle race. Hewitt placed second overall after running a single-A standard time of 52.27, while Pochylko placed fifth overall after running a time of 53.67. Senior Abedelemejid Kerebo (AK) took to the track to compete in the 800-meter run where he would place 15th overall after running a time of 1:53.26. Freshman Abedeleselam Kerebo (AB)  also competed in the event and went on to finish 22nd overall after running a personal-best time of 1:54.40. In the last race of the day, the Life University Running Eagles ran a team of Hewitt, Bajo, McIntyre and Giddens in the 4x400 meter relay. The men went on to win the event after running a single-B standard and season best time of 3:14.69. Also competing in the event was a 'B' team, which consisted of the likes of Carr, Roshawn Lee, Pochylko and AK Kerebo. The Life U 'B' team would go on to finish fourth overall after running a time of 3:18.24.

Up Next: The Running Eagles will be back on the road as athletes will travel to Atlanta, Ga to compete in the Emory Qualifier, an event hosted by Emory University to give athletes a last attempt at National qualifying marks.