Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Tennessee Invite
Herd Track & Field Back in Competition at Tennessee Invite
4/9/2026 10:14:00 AM | Track and Field
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Closing in on a month to the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships, Marshall Track & Field travels to Knoxville for the Tennessee Invite. The two-day meet begins at 9 a.m. Friday morning with the Women's Hammer, the final event Saturday is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. with the Men's 4x400.
After a week off, Marshall has four meet weekends remaining before Director of T&F Keith Roberts' Herd travels to Mobile to compete against the best in the conference.
"We strategically had last week as an off week so our kids could train, rest, complete some community service projects, and catch up on schoolwork," said Coach Roberts. "The training sessions were phenomenal and I feel good with where the team is at going into the meet. The morale is high and they are becoming more and more confident. If they stay relaxed there will be some big performances that come out of this meet. As always the main objective is for each of our student-athletes to position themselves to score at conference for the team."
Before Easter Weekend, the Herd competed in one of the season's largest meets at the Raleigh Relays. The Men's Triple Jump squad highlighted the weekend, with Otenidi Omot and Cam Hamby placing top-four in the event. The duo combined with Trashaun Smith have all surpassed a school record which had been held since 1996.
"My goal for this meet is to stay consistent while remaining healthy, not limiting myself to a number but trusting the training process to show itself," said Hamby. "To prepare for this meet I personally attacked what I felt were my weaknesses, improving the small things so there could be big results while prioritizing staying healthy going into the meet."
"The team's progress is coming along well, we are training to peak at the right time and we are still setting PR's and breaking records. Even those who aren't breaking records or setting PR's are still remaining consistent, which sets us up to come into conference ready to make a statement. It's a process but we are making some serious growth which is going to equal us making some noise come Sun Belt."
The high-quality meet in Raleigh allowed for the aforementioned personal records, including two from freshman Jenna Olsen. The first-year from Westerville, Ohio set a PR in Hammer (49.67m) and Discus (35.28m).
"My goals for the meet are to get over 50 meters in Hammer and to get over 38 meters in Discus and to always have fun because that's when I do my best," Olsen said. "This week in practice I've focused on what feels good and keeping that feeling for each throw as well as saving my throws in discus. The team has been working really hard and making great strides and I can't wait to see how well we do this weekend in Knoxville."
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