January 22, 2006 - UNCG track teams open season at Niswonger Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, TN ? Charles Jones broke the school indoor triple jump record to highlight UNC Greensboro’s opening weekend action at the Niswonger Invitational Indoor Track Meet.
Jones, who became the first UNCG athlete to qualify for the National Outdoor Championships, broke the school indoor record by more than a meter over the weekend, recording a mark of 15.04 meters. He also placed third in the unseeded long jump, leaping 6.88 meters. That fell just shy of the school mark of 6.90 meters, which Jones set at last year’s Southern Conference Championships.
On the women’s side, Jess Weber and Kathy Oldham recorded Top 10 finishes in the mile. Weber crossed the line ninth in 5:29.01, while Oldham finished 10th in 5:29.83.
Also recording top 10 finishes on the men’s side were Xavier Rutz, Jeff Williams and Nick Vaccaro. Williams finished 10th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.20, while Vaccaro was 10th in the 3000 meters unseeded. Vaccaro crossed the line in a personal best 8:52.78. Rutz finished fourth in the 5000 meters, recording a personal best time of 15:12.76.
“This was a good opener for us,” said UNCG coach Rachelle Roberts. “It shows where we are fitness wise and what we need to work on for the next couple of meets. We had four athletes run personal records including a school record and we look for more of those throughout the season.”
UNCG returns to action next week at the UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill.
January 21, 2006 - Mountaineers Conclude Competition at Niswonger Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, TN ? Freshman Charles Derrickson (Spring Lake, N.C.) finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles and sophomore Barron Shell (Hays, N.C.) placed third in the pole vault, Saturday, as the Appalachian State University men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams concluded competition at the Niswonger Invitational at ETSU Memorial Stadium.
Derrickson, who placed second in the preliminaries Friday, finished fourth in the finals of the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.10. Derrickson’s time of 8.04 in the preliminaries missed the school record by 0.03 seconds. He now holds Appalachian’s second-best time in the event.
Shell recorded a school sixth-best mark of 15-07.00 to place third in the pole vault. He was followed by teammate Dan Queen (Charlotte, N.C.) in sixth place with a mark of 4.60m.
Other top competitors for Appalachian State Saturday included Ricky Harris (Durham, N.C.) in the long jump (12th, 22-02.50), Charles White (Providence, N.C.) in the 60m dash (29th, 7.01), Mark Sturgis (Woodleaf, N.C.) in the 200m dash (28th, 22.25) and Piper Taylor (Fayetteville, N.C.) in the 400m dash (32nd, 1:01.16).
A total of 10 meet records fell in the two-day Niswonger Invitational which featured over 600 athletes from 33 different schools, clubs and unattached competitors.
In competition Friday, senior Beverly Burnett (Graham, N.C.) led the Mountaineers with a second place throw of 56.06.00 in the weight throw and a third-place mark of 45-07.75 in the shot put. Burnett has now moved into second in the ASU record books in the weight throw.
Two other Mountaineers finished in the top-10 in both the weight throw and the shot put, as senior Nikole Simmons (Charlotte, N.C.) placed fourth in the weight throw (53-02.75) and fifth in the shot put (43-07.25).
Senior Kristie Boggan (Charlotte, N.C.) placed sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 50-09.50, while
sophomore Brittani Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) placed eight in the shot put with a throw of 41-07.75.
Sturgis placed second in the triple jump for the men Friday with a mark of 50-08.25. He now holds the sixth-best jump in Appalachian school history. Senior Chris Cutter (Charlotte, N.C.) joined Sturgis in the top-15 in the event with a 12th-place jump of 46.08.00.
Vonteena Knotts (Charlotte, N.C.) finished second in the long jump with a jump of 18-11.25. The sophomore now holds the eighth-best mark in school history.
Senior Bridget Robertson (Advance, N.C.) moved into a tie for fifth place in the Appalachian State record books with a mark of 10-00.00 in the pole vault. Sophomore Kaitlyn Heeke (Hickory, N.C.) and freshman Shea Snow (Booneville, N.C.) tied for 10th in the event with marks of 9-06.25.
For complete results from the meet, please click here.
The Mountaineers return to Boone for their first home competition of the new year as they host the Mountaineer Winter Open, Sunday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Holmes Center.
January 22, 2006 - Two Bulldogs Break School Records at Niswonger Invitational
Johnson City, TN - The Citadel track and field team continues to improve every week as the Bulldogs had another good outing at the Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State this past Friday and Saturday. Zach DiBois came close to equaling his distance in the 35 pound weight throw that earned him Southern Conference Athlete of the Week last week, while two members of the women's team broke school records.
DiBois has had a very exciting seven days of his track career beginning last Saturday when he placed third at the UNC Chapel Hill opener. He followed that in the middle of the week by being named SoCon male track and field Athlete of the Week. DiBois then rounded out the week with a fifth place finish in the 35 pound weight throw at the Niswonger Invitational. His toss of 50-5.5 nearly equaled his 50-7.25 throw from the week before.
Senior Marcus Butler also came close to his best performance in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.78, taking the 11th spot. His personal best is 1:56.38.
For the women, Jodi Whittle and Stephanie McNeill continue to break school records in bunches. Whittle lowered her 200 meter record set last week at North Carolina from 26.08 to 25.80. She followed that by lowering her own record in the 400 meters set last year on the same track from 59.91 to 58.73.
McNeill placed seventh out of 37 throwers in the 20lb. weight and upped her record from last weekend from 47-11.25 to a very impressive 50-3.25.
"Any time you can improve over two feet in one week is amazing and proof of the time and effort put into it by her and her coaches, Kris Kut, Jared Boan and Catrina Moore," said head coach Jody Huddleston.
Next up, the Bulldogs travel back to UNC Chapel Hill next weekend, January 27-28, to compete in the UNC Fast Times Invitational.
January 21, 2006 - Sharpe Shines On Opening Day Of Indoor Track Season; Mullen Races to One Mile Win
Johnson City, TN -- Furman's McKenzie Sharpe scored a fifth place finish in the women's 800m to pace the Lady Paladins on day one of the Niswonger Foundation Invitational Friday at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tenn.
Sharpe, a junior, posted a time of 2:21.72 to finish second among Southern Conference competitors in Furman's first indoor track meet of the 2006 season. Furman track and volleyball standout Chibuzo Aguocha placed 12th in the women's triple jump with a distance of 36'11".
Furman sophomore Rebecca Mullen recorded a time of 5:17.66 to claim first place in the women's one mile unseeded race Saturday. Mullen outdistanced a field of 34 runners to take the victory. Kerri Savery of Western Carolina and Brittany Holland of Georgia State finished second and third, respectively.
Freshman Lindsey Barker turned in a strong performance in her first collegiate indoor competition. Barker, a native of Easley, S.C., finished second in the women's 800m unseeded race in 2:24.50. Yolanda Barber of North Carolina Central took first place with a time of 2:23.16.
The invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State, continues with action throughout the day on Saturday. Full results from this weekend's events are available at www.flashresults.com.
Furman will take a break from competition next week before taking part in the Tarheel Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C., on February 4.
January 22, 2006 - Track & Field Wraps Up Weekend At Niswonger Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Georgia Southern University Track & Field team opened the 2006 portion of the indoor season by competing at the Niswonger Foundation Invitational over the weekend. The large gathering was hosted by East Tennessee State University and featured over 600 athletes from 33 institutions.
As action got underway on Friday (Jan. 20th), the Eagles showed why the outlook for this season continues to be positive. Junior Lauren Jacobs took first overall in the women’s Long Jump with a distance of 19’00.50”. The leap is not only a personal indoor best for Jacobs, but also places her third in school history in the event.
In the Triple Jump, the Eagles placed two juniors in the top 10. Nicole Brown garnered a distance of 40’9.75” for second overall and Brittany Chase placed seventh with a distance of 38’00.00”.
On the throwers side of competition, two new personal bests emerged for the Eagles out of junior Emily Greeson and sophomore Monique Pitts. Greeson placed tenth overall in the Weight Throw with a toss of 48’07.50” for her new personal indoor best and Pitts outdid her previous best in Shot Put with a distance of 35’07.75”. Pitts also placed just behind Greeson, at 12th overall, in the Weight Throw with a 47’03.00” throw.
Freshmen dominated the 800M Run for Georgia Southern, as London Ryles and Danielle Shaurette both had outstanding showings. Ryles captured sixth place overall in the event with a time of 2:22.16 and Shaurette took 11th place with a time of 2:26.26.
Saturday’s (Jan 21st) action saw five more top 10 finishes for GSU. The highlight was in the 60M Hurdles in which Brittany Chase, Lauren Jacobs and sophomore Amber Wilson all compiled top times. Chase finished in 8.90 for fifth overall, Wilson set a new personal indoor best to finish just behind Chase with a time of 8.91 for sixth place and Jacobs also set a new personal indoor best, coming in eighth with a time of 9.00.
Amber Wilson also topped her previous best in the High Jump by almost three inches with a height of 5’03.00” ? good for third all-time at GSU.
The final two top finishes for Georgia Southern came from senior Brittney Jett. Jett completed the Mile Run in 5:37.40 for seventh overall and took fifth in the 800M unseeded run with a time of 2:26.89.
The Eagles will look to take the momentum from the Niswonger Invitational with them to Clemson, S.C. next week (Jan. 27th & 28th), as they will compete in the Clemson Multis. The team will have little less than a month to gear up for the Indoor Southern Conference Tournament, also to be held in Clemson.