GAINESVILLE, Fla. ­ The Troy State men’s track & field team posted an impressive performance at the Florida Relays over the weekend, setting a pair of school records while enjoying what TSU Director of Track Bob Lambert called "one of their finest performances since winning the Alabama Relays in 1998."

Leading the charge was sophomore Jesse Morrow, who set the tone for the two-day event by flying through the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.44 seconds on Friday afternoon. The effort eclipsed the previous best school mark of 14.48, set by Jasper Demps in 1999.

Later in the evening, the sprint medley relay team of Andy Britt, Louis Harris, Emery Vickers and Michael Bond shattered a 28-year-old school mark with their time of 3:23.02. The effort broke the previous school mark of 3:24.84, set by Lorenzo Davis, Larry Townsend, Charles Oliver and David Schilling in 1974.

Britt and Harris ran 200-meter splits of 21.6, Vickers dashed through the 400 in 48.9, and Bond ran a brilliant 1:50.9 on the 800-meter final leg.

"The men really put their talent on display before a crowd of more than 6,000 track and field fans and 50 high school teams," Lambert said. "We came to Gainesville on a mission, to show that we are capable or ‘running with the big dogs,’ and we did that. Andy (Britt), Michael (Bond), Emery (Vickers) and Louis (Harris) held their own against some of the very best sprint medley relay teams in the country."

Another highlight of the meet was the 4×100 performance of Britt, Michael Acree, Vickers and Harris. The group finished seventh overall with a season-best time of 40.75, winning their heat and beating Florida A&M and Florida State, two of the premier short-relay teams in the country.

The same foursome garnered the Trojans an eighth-place finish in the 4×200 relay with a time of 1:25.49 later in the afternoon.

On the women’s side, Sherion Taylor once again led the team with her 39’6.5" triple jump, finishing in fifth place. Amanda Mason (126’10") and Portia Profitt (121’9") finished 11th and 14th in the javelin, with Profitt throwing 10 feet beyond her previous best.

Takia Shoats also had her best effort of the year in the shot put, finishing 17th with a throw of 41’1."

In other top performances on Saturday:

The shuttle hurdle relay team of Morrow, Johnnie Peppers, Desmon Newton and Arrington Watkins ran the second-fastest time in school history, capturing third place behind Florida and a team of former All-America runners. Their time of 58.51 was just .13 off the school record set last year at the Alabama Relays.

The 4×800 team of Rob Barton (1:53), Linus Wilson (1:56), Wes Birdsong (1:55) and Bond (1:54) turned in the third-best performance in school history, finishing fifth overall with a time of 7:38.

In the women’s distance medley relay, the team of Belinda Bargmann, Julia Miller, Natalie Simmons and Lindsey Minnihan finished fifth with a season-best effort of 12:44.57.

The Trojans return to action this weekend at the TSU-Coach "O" Invitational at Memorial Stadium. Athletes from Jacksonville State, Wallace State-Hanceville, Samford, West Florida, Birmingham-Southern and Auburn will highlight the event, which begins at 11 a.m. with the field events. Admission is free.