Marshall Track & Field Recap
By Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports
April 22, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — Marshall Track & Field found plenty of success the last two weeks in the state of Virginia in the JMU Invite and UVA Challenge.
At the JMU Invite, the Thundering Herd earned nine victories with a sweep of the 4×400 relays, Evan Weder winning the men’s high jump, Markayla Moore winning the women’s hammer throw, Hannah Wyler winning the women’s 1500, Tavon Simmons-Roberts winning the 110m Hurdles, as well as Addison Painter and Lara Check sweeping the men’s and women’s long jumps.
Check said that she was proud of teams’ performance at the meet. “There were some tough conditions, but everyone definitely pulled through,” Check said. “There were also some great tailwinds, so that definitely benefited the sprinters especially, and I think we just keep improving in those areas.”
Check has been the highest national ranked athlete through the indoor and outdoor seasons for the Thundering Herd.
Director of Track and Field & Cross-Country Keith Roberts said that athletes like Check set the foundation for the future of the program.
“It’s been great just because we have a lot of freshmen,” Roberts said. “It’s an entirely different team than what she came in with and she’s done a good job not only embracing them but showing them the ropes and just being a positive person. You get people like her that are super talented, and they can go off on their own and she’s embracing that. She embraces the team sport mentality, which is what we’re all about.
Leading the way for the Thundering Herd at the Virginia challenge was freshman distance runner Destiny Berryman, who set a new PR in the 5k with a time of 17:07.85.
Cross Country head coach Caleb Bowen said that the UVA challenge was to better prepare the team for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championships.
“We chose to take a small group to UVA (University of Virginia) to get better competition while the rest of the group rested,” Bowen said. “That was really good, she unfortunately had to lead from after the second or third lap. So, she was totally by herself. So, a lot more on the table there.”
Marshall Track & Field now travels to Louisville, K.Y. for the Clark Wood Invitational for the final tune-up before the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships.