The Southern Illinois University track and field team will compete at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 30–31. The event, hosted by the University of Louisville at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, brings together several Power Four programs and regional teams.
The invitational is named after Lenny Lyles, a former Louisville athlete and Olympian. It is considered a key midseason meet for participating schools. This year’s competition will include Wavelight Technologies pacing lights to assist athletes in maintaining their target times during races.
Southern Illinois comes into the meet following a strong performance at the DeNoon Classic. The team aims to use this weekend as an opportunity to continue its progress before the Missouri Valley Conference Championships later this season.
Coach Richard Jones commented on the significance of the meet: “Looking at the teams entered, this will be one of the larger and more competitive meets of the season outside of the MVC championship,” Jones said. “We are excited to get to this level and look to compete well and improve on our MVC rankings after this weekend.”
Among individual goals, senior Leah Thames is seeking to break school indoor records in both the 200-meter (23.39 seconds) and 400-meter (53.90 seconds) events. On the men’s side, Shane Ashton, Donte Long, Kwame Smith, and Jalen Dickerson will try to surpass SIU’s indoor record in the 4×400 relay (3:07.15).
Field events begin Friday at 9:45 a.m. ET with track events starting at 10:00 a.m., continuing through Saturday. Live results for all events can be found throughout the meet at https://live.dcracetiming.com/meets/60820.
Updates will also be shared on Southern Illinois track and field social media channels.
