Marshall Track & Field Recap
By Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports
March 26, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — Marshall Men’s Track & Field broke two records in the team’s outdoor season opener at the Hurricane Invitational at the University of Miami with the 4×100 relay team breaking the record twice and senior Addison Painter breaking the long jump record. Director of Track & Field and Cross-Country Keith Roberts said that the performances show the strength of the program across all events.
“We have a lot of depth,” Roberts said in an interview with FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson. “We really don’t rely on one person and that’s kind of the philosophy since we’ve been coaching, and it shows, and they work hard. A lot of guys and women as well that want to get it done and they don’t make excuses. They don’t complain about which relay they’re on, they just go after it and then they try to be the next person.”
Painter broke the long jump outdoor record with a jump of 7.55 meters, breaking Khamisi Jackson’s record from 1995. Painter said that the record is great, but he continues to strive for higher results.
“It’s nice to continue to build off of the indoor conference meet,” Painter said in an interview with FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson. “But 7.55 isn’t really a number we’re looking to end the year. The school records are nice, it’s nice to be ranked high in the East (NCAA East preliminaries) right now, but we want to continue to build. So, hopefully we continue to hit marks like that throughout the year and we’d like to get into a kind of 7.7 range to be comfortable going into regionals.”
The weekend marked a big weekend for the underclassmen on the team as six of the eight members of the record-breaking men’s 4×100 relay team were freshmen. Junior Ethan Bowens said that it’s been a blessing to show their progression throughout the season.
“It’s fantastic,” Bowens said in an interview with FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson. “They’ve acclimated and adapted so well because coming from high school to college can be kind of a culture shock and especially competing as an athlete, you’re kind of thrown in the fire. They’ve embraced it and they’ve done well. I’m so proud of them and I’m just happy to be their teammate.
Marshall Track & Field now shifts its focus to Raleigh North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State University.