Masai Russell Victorious in Outdoor Debut

Freshman hurdler Masai Russell competed in her first outdoor meet at the USTA Invitational, on Saturday, March 16.

The Kentucky Wildcat placed first in the 400-meter hurdles at 58.10, as her teammate Faith Ross finished second at 59.32. Ross entered the competition ranked 22 in nation in the 400-meter hurdles. The two runners were the only competitors out of 10 to finish in under one minute.

Masai also placed second in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.76. She was bested by the national champion of Peru, Diana Balazar who ran a time of 13.65.

Masai and the rest of the Kentucky Wildcats will travel to Vanderbilt next weekend to compete in the Black and Gold Invitational.

Jennifer Ramsey's Change of Pace

Wright State's Jennifer Ramsey has competed in multiple events during her first season, and a half as a collegiate athlete. Usually she's seen competing in the 400-meter dash and long jump.

She's made appearances in the 600 and 800-meter runs as well. During indoor season she's been spotted competing in the 60-meter dash on a few occasions. On March 16, Ramsey kicked off the outdoor season, with a rare spot in the 200-meter dash and her first ever collegiate go, at the 100-meter dash.

During the Stan Lyons Invitational, Ramsey finished fifth out of 11 competitors in the 200- meter dash with a time of 27.58. Ramsey was also eighth out of 19 in the 100-meter dash clocking in at 13.21. Three of her teammates, Brooklyn Mikesell, Sophia Angelopoulos and Jayla Tarver placed fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Ramsey and her teammates will compete at High Point in the VertKlasse Meeting, March 22.

Caisja Chandler AAC Indoor Freshman of the Year

After the American Athletic Conference indoor championship meet concluded, the women of Cincinnati finished third.

One of the brightest performers was freshman Caisja Chandler, who was named the meet's Freshman of the Year. Chandler finished second in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 23.52.

Chandler also scored points for the Bearcats, with sixth place finishes in the 60-meter dash and the 1600-meter relay. The freshman arrived on campus after an amazing high school career that, saw her record the second fastest 200-meter dash time in the history of Ohio High School Athletics (23.24).

Cincinnati will start its outdoor season, Thursday, March 28 to 30th, during the Texas Relays, in Austin.

Jade Jordan's Birthday Bash at 49er Classic

On March 15, a star was born. Jade Jordan of Charlotte shined bright on her birthday, as she defeated 45 competitors in long jump action, with a jump of 5.76 at the Charlotte 49er Classic.

The sophomore finished ahead of the pack, which included her teammates Carlecia Spivey, whose jump of 5.66 landed her in second place, as well as Torri Weathers who placed tenth (5.38).

Jordan followed her performance the next day with a runner-up finish in the triple jump, for the second straight year at this meet. Her jump of 12.40 was topped by Shamoya McNeil of West Virginia who won with a jump of 12.74.

On another note, Charlotte got a win in the 400-meter relay featuring the foursome of Cameren Pryor, Alex Council, Nyasia Daniels and Kyra Atkins. The group clocked in at 45.86, finishing well ahead of 21 other squads, including Howard and East Tennessee State University, who placed second and third respectively at 47.11 and 47.31.

Charlotte also got a 1,600-meter relay win with the unit of Cemere Petty, Kianna Lee, Maya Singletary and Kristen Williams with a time of 3:38.91. They beat out 31 other relay teams including Morgan State and East Carolina, who rounded out the top three at 3:41.15 and 3:41.16.

Charlotte goes on to compete at High Point this weekend before heading to the Florida Relays, March 28 to30th.