January 28, 2006 - Appalachian Dominates Field Events at Mountaineer Winter Open
BOONE, N.C. ?The Appalachian State University’s men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams had strong performances as they hosted Mountaineer Winter Open on Saturday, January 28th at the Holmes Center. Appalachian was especially dominant in the field events, picking up victories in five of the six field events on the women’s side and three triumphs on the men’s side.
The ASU women’s domination of the field events was led by Beverly Burnett, who took home titles in the shot put (14.20 meters) and weight throw (15.04 meters).
Monica Johnson claimed victory in the long jump with a leap of 5.72 meters, followed by teammate Jessica Mayela in second place with a mark of 5.53 meters.
In the triple jump, Vonteena Knotts triumphed with a distance of 11.64 meters while Johnson took second with a mark of 11.21 meters.
Charlotte Baker and Brittani Williams made it a 1-2-3 sweep for the Mountaineers in the weight throw with throws of 14.69 and 14.63 meters. Appalachian also took the first three spots in the pole vault, with Bridget Robertson clinching the title with a vault of 3.20 meters. ASU’s Caren Mah placed second (3.20m) and Shea Snow came in third (3.20m).
In the running events, Meghan Gaffney separated herself from the one-mile field late in the race, crossing the line first with a time of 5:10.06.
In the men’s triple jump, Mark Sturgis soared to the individual title with a distance of 15.33 meters. Teammate Chris Cutter finished third in the event with a mark of 14.50 meters.
In the long jump, Ricky Harris earned the victory, jumping a distance of 7.15 meters.
In the pole vault competition, Barron Shell set a team record at the Holmes Center by vaulting to victory with a height of 4.74 meters. Right behind Shell, Daniel Queen captured second place with a vault of 4.57 meters.
In the running events, Charles Derrickson claimed victory in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.49 seconds.
No team scores were kept. Complete results are below.
Appalachian returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 9 when it hosts the Valentine Open (running events only) at the Holmes Center beginning at 3 p.m.
January 28, 2006 - Wildcat Men Sweep 5000 Meters at UNC Fast Times Track Meet
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? Davidson tracksters Jonathan Baker, Sam Morris and Austin Mercadante swept the men’s 5000 meters at the University of North Carolina Fast Times indoor track and field meet in Chapel Hill on Friday, highlighting the weekend for the Wildcats.
“We had some good performances this weekend, particularly out of the 5000-meter group,” Davidson head coach Gary Andrew said. “Still, we know we have some work to do across the board.”
Senior co-captain Jonathan Baker crossed the 5000-meter finish line first at 15:25.62 with sophomore teammate Sam Morris right on his heels at 15:25.84, while senior Austin Mercadante posted a mark of 15:34.71 to round out the top three finishers.
In the mile run, junior middle-distancer Douglas Noreen raced to 14th out of 49 competitors, clocking a time of 4:21.75, and sophomore Ryan Hubbard recorded a long jump of 20-11.75 to take 14th as well. Also, Davidson’s distance medley relay team of sophomore Brad Troxell, and juniors Cisco Morales, David Ritchie and Noreen finished fourth out of 12 entries with one of the program’s all-time top 10 times at 10:24.34.
The Wildcat women took a limited team to Chapel Hill for this weekend’s meet, with a handful of athletes racing for experience.
Davidson’s men will be back on the track in Chapel Hill next Saturday, Feb. 4, competing at the Carolina Invitational. Meanwhile, the Wildcat women travel west to Johnson City, Tenn., for the East Tennessee State University Invitational on the same day.
January 29, 2006 - Jones breaks long jump record at Carolina Fast Times
CHAPEL HILL, NC ? Charles Jones broke his own indoor long jump school record with a leap of 6.94 meters to highlight UNCG’s performances at the Carolina Fast Times meet this weekend.
Jones clipped his old mark of 6.90 set at last year’s Southern Conference Championships. His leap of 6.94 meters was good for sixth place. Last week, Jones broke his own triple jump mark that he had previously set at the 2005 SoCon Indoor Championships.
Also on the men’s side, Jeff Williams recorded a fourth-place finish in the 800 meters. His time of 1:54.82 was a season-best.
On the women’s side, Jess Weber, Kathy Oldham and Tricia O'Connell all ran season-best times in the mile run. Weber crossed the line with a time of 5:25.11, with Oldham crossing in 5:32.28 and O’Connell finishing in 5:33.59.
"We had another good meet, everyone stepped it up from last week,” said UNCG coach Rachelle Roberts. “I am proud of the team, they are working really hard to get better and better every weekend"
UNCG returns to Chapel Hill next weekend for the Carolina Invitational.
January 29, 2006 - Western Carolina Track & Field Records 26 Podium, 10 First-place Finishes
Cullowhee, N.C. - Visiting Appalachian State for the second time during this indoor season, the Western Carolina track & field teams recorded a combined 26 podium performances, including 10 first-place finishes and 13 seasonal bests, at the Mountaineer Winter Open held in the Holmes Center.
The 26, top three finishes were evenly split between the men and women's squads with each tallying 13 apiece. The men's squad turned in eight seasonal best performances with six first-place finishes, while the women had five top times and four individual victories.
Western was especially strong in the running events with all but two of the first-place finishes coming on the track. Sophomore Raquel Ramseur continued her success at ASU, setting her second Holmes Center this season. The Charlotte, N.C., native ran a season's best 24.79 in the 200-meter dash to accompany her 400-meter record set back on December 4. Ramseur also finished third in the 55-meter dash, with classmate, and former Vance High teammate, Tangelia Johnson taking first in the sprint. Johnson finished just behind Ramseur in the 200-meter with a time of 25.40.
In the 55-meter hurdles, Western had six of the eight finalists, finishing second through sixth led by podium finishes by senior Tiffany Mack and sophomore NaShay McGriff in second and third, respectively. Freshman Aneesha Lane edged teammate Cassie Gentry in the 400-meters, finishing on the podium in second and third. Junior Asia Davis also recorded a runner-up finish, placing second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:19.92. Lane, Gentry, sophomore Kerrie Savery and freshman Annie Bailey combined to win Western's second 4x400-meter relay event at Appalachian with a time of 4:09.68.
McGriff added to her podium appearances, leaping 11.0 meters in the women's triple jump to finish second, with a pair of Catamount teammates finishing first and second in the high jump. Junior Brittany Whitaker and freshman Angela Stark cleared 1.62 and 1.57 meters, respectively. In the throws, junior Sharhonda Bell led WCU with a pair of fourth-place finishes in both the shot put and weight throw.
Senior Lawrence Briscoe and sophomore Zeb Johnson led the men's performances for Western, each tallying a first and second place finish. Briscoe won the men's high jump with a season-best height of 1.98 meters and finished second in the 55-meter hurdles, edging teammate Mike Malone in fourth. Briscoe was also a part of the men's 4x400-meter relay team with senior Charleton Grant, and sophomores Kevin Johnson and Duke Craig. Johnson ran second to senior Milton Bolton in the 200-meter, but won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.39 just beating out freshman Manteo Mitchell in second.
Grant recorded a first-place finish of his own with a 49.92 in the 400-meter dash, with junior teammate James Gregory in second with a time of 50.01. A pair of Catamount teammates also battled out the 800-meter event, with senior Adam Puett winning over junior Dan Fassinger by just under a second, 1:54.87-to-1:55.73.
In field events, freshmen Rashad Herndon and Daniel Joseph recorded second-place finishes in the long and triple jumps, respectively, with sophomore Chris Page hitting the podium in the shot put with a third-place distance of 12.81 meters (42-0.50).
Western returns to action next Friday and Saturday at the Akron Open in Akron, Ohio.