Kentucky pair Abby Steiner and Lance Lang captured the women’s and men’s university 200 meters at the 2021 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, hosted at the James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, on Friday evening. Matthew Boling had to settle for second place in the men’s event, while Joseph Fahnbulleh did not start.
Winning Start For Steiner At 2021 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational
NCAA Indoor champion Steiner, who ran a pair of relay legs to open the outdoor season, picked up from where she left off indoors after she posted a time of 22.79 seconds (+0.4 m/s) to secure the top spot in the women’s 200m when she finished first in heat one.
Talitha Diggs of Florida was the runner up to Steiner in the first heat and was second overall with 23.20, while Ka’Tia Seymour of Florida State who won the second heat with 23.42 (1.0 m/s) collected third overall, just ahead of Florida’s Taylor Manson (23.43) and Dajour Miles of Kentucky (23.46).
Lang Surprised Favorite Boling
Meanwhile, the men’s race went to Lance Lang of Kentucky who flashed to a new personal best time of 20.39 seconds (0.2 m/s) to improve his previous best from 20.51, set on this same track during 2021 Pepsi Florida Relays earlier this month.
Running his first 200m of the outdoor season, Matthew Boling of Georgia finished second to Lang with a time of 20.43. Boling, the 2021 NCAA Indoor champion, opened his season last weekend with a 10.32 secs performance at home.
Kennedy Lightner also grabbed a podium finish for the Wildcats after he followed home third in 20.69 secs in what was his first 200m race of the season.
The anticipated clash between Boling, Florida’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, and Kentucky’s Dwight St Hillaire didn’t materialize as the latter did not face the starter. Florida State’s Jhevaughn Matherson did not start the event either.
Jalen Brown of Arkansas took heat two in a time of 21.01 seconds for fourth place overall with the top five finishers rounded out by Dedrick Vanover of Florida who ran the same time when finishing fourth in the first section.
[Live Results] How To Follow 2021 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational
