UM track athlete Skylar Suggitt. Photo by Aubrie Chastain By Aubrie Chastain
On Jan. 16, Montevallo’s track team opened their 2022 season at the Emory Crossplex Showdown. Here, student athletes broke multiple school records, a new school record in the distance medley and finished in third place.
Four student athletes Skylar Suggit, Kylie Carroll, Joe Leventry and Nyla Shipman all were able to break records at the season’s opening.
Skylar Suggit, a freshman marketing major, beat the school record for pole vaulting at 3.55 M. Suggit was thrilled to find out she had broken the school record. Suggit said, “Records are meant to be broken, so after finding out I had broken the indoor school record as a freshman, I was thrilled.”
Suggit also mentioned that help from her team pushed her as a student athlete, saying, “Being a part of the Montevallo Track and Field Team has pushed me to become a better athlete, it has given me some of my very best friends, and has given me memories that will last a lifetime!”
Kylie Carroll, a freshman biology major, broke the school record for long jump at 5.34 M. She also broke an additional record for the 60m dash with a time of 7.85. With this accomplishment, Carroll was ecstatic to see her time and even impressed with herself after running at three meets.
Carroll also said, “Coach Barksdale, our head coach, walked up to me and told me it was a school record and gave me a hug. It’s the best feeling to know you’ve accomplished something like that.”
Joe Leventry, a senior business management major, broke the school record for the mile with a time of 4:09. Leventry also broke a record in the 3000 M with a time of 8:14. With the record broken, Leventry said, “I won by 15 seconds so you can’t be too mad at a win and another school record.”
Nyla Shipman, a sophomore majoring in exercise and nutrition science, also broke a school record for the weight throw at 16.07 M. Shipman has been on the track team for two years now, and upon finding out she broke the record, she said, “I broke the record last year at conference, but I knew this year I had to continue beating myself to get better and to progress.”
For the school record of the distance medley relay, Drew Kilgore, Will McBride, Chaney Holder and Joe Leventry broke the record at a time of 10:22, beating the previous record by six seconds.
Overall, Montevallo’s track team placed in third at the meet with 99.33 points.
With the team’s success, many of the athletes credit the bond between each other that helps to push them to be better and strive for more. When asked about the team, Carroll said, “We all push each other to be better, and we have fun while doing it. We have an incredible group this year and I’m so excited to see what else we can do.”
Aubrie Chastain is a writer for The Alabamian. She is a first-year political science major with plans to attend law school. She enjoys a good book, coffee and hikes.
