March 19, 2007 Release
Appalachian State Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Mitchell Leads Mountaineers at 49er Classic
by Appalachian Sports Information
March 17, 2007 - CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Phil Mitchell recorded a victory in the 3,000 meter run to help lead the Appalachian State University men’s track and field team at its outdoor season opener at the 49er Classic hosted by Charlotte on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 at Irwin Belk Track & Field Center.
Mitchell moved into third in the ASU record books with his time of 8:35.34.
Barron Shell tied for second in the pole vault with a mark of 4.60 meters (15-01.00). Justin Hunnicutt added a seventh-place finish with a mark 4.45 meters (14-07.25).
The Mountaineers continued their success in the field events as Wes Kiser placed third in the hammer throw (53.13 meters, 174-04), sixth in the discus (44.69 meters, 146-07) and ninth in the shot put (14.50 meters, 47-07.00). Grant Haun added a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 49.75 meters (163-03), while Daniel Fioramonti came in seventh with a mark of 48.01 meters (157-06).
Ricky Harris grabbed a fifth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 7.05 meters (23-01.75). On the track, Charles Derrickson placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.26, while his classmate Daniel Neal came in 10th at 14.74.
The Mountaineers will next head down highway 421 as they compete in the Wake Forest Invitational on March 24 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Appalachian State Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Williams Records Three Top-Seven Finishes at 49er Classic
by Appalachian Sports Information
March 17, 2007 - CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Brittani Williams recorded three top-seven finishes to help lead the Appalachian State University women’s track and field team at its outdoor season opener at the 49er Classic hosted by Charlotte on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 at Irwin Belk Track & Field Center.
Williams placed fifth in the shot put and hammer throw with marks of 13.65 meters (44-09.50) and 44.09 meters (144-08), respectively. She added a seventh-place finish in the discus throw with a toss of 38.46 meters 126-02. Her teammate Lily Tallent placed fifth in the event with a mark of 38.80 meters (127-03). Shaniqua Wallace placed eighth in the shot put with a mark of 12.50 meters (41-00.25).
Danielle Thorpe and Jessica Mayela placed back-to-back in the long jump as Thorpe came in fifth (5.39 meters, 17-08.25) and Mayela placed sixth (5.34 meters, 17-06.25). Also in the field events, Meg Phillips placed fifth in the high jump with a leap of 1.60 meters (5-03.00).
On the track, Meg Gaffney came in ninth in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:42.10 and Chenel McFadden placed eighth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.94.
The Mountaineers will next head down highway 421 as they compete in the Wake Forest Invitational on March 24 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Chattanooga Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Lefort, Woods Claim Top Spots at Georgia Relays
ATHENS, Ga. ? Sabrina Lefort and Emily Wood each claimed top spots Saturday at the Georgia Relays as the Chattanooga men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the outdoor season at Spec Towns Track in Athens, Ga.
Lefort took first in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:05.03, more than 22 seconds faster than Mississippi State’s Joy Griffith at 11:27.43. Joining her on the top of the podium was Wood who finished first in the women’s 1500-meter run. She led three Chattanooga runners in the event taking first with a time of 4:46.59, just 1.28 ahead of teammate Shelley Taylor who ran unattached. Katie Williams claimed third to make it a sweep at 4:47.91 and Laura Stuart was 12th at 5:07.46.
The women’s Distance Medley Relay and 4x800 meter relay teams each placed second on the day. The DMR was second to Mississippi State quad with a time of 12:14.49 and behind the Bulldogs in the 4x800 relay at00209:41.72.
On the men’s side, Tim Clark took first in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase at 9:33.13 behind MSU’s Travis McKay while the men’s DMR placed second behind Eastern Illinois in a time of 10:21.22.
Jeff Taylor was third in the men’s 1500-meter run with a time of 3:57.99 and the men’s 4x800 meter relay team placed third as well at 7:51.30, just .21 seconds behind runner-up finishers Eastern Illinois. Andy Highlander was 16th in the 1500-meter event and Stephen George was 11th in the 400-meter dash.
The track teams will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the annual Alabama Relays.
The Citadel Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
The Citadel Track and Field Dominates Throwing Events at Winthrop Invitational
Rock Hill, S.C. ? The Citadel track and field team won six of the eight throwing events as the Bulldogs closed out the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill. Freshman Kenny Stephens won the shot put and the discus while senior Stephanie McNeill won the shot put and won the hammer with a new school record.
Stephens started off the day by winning the shot put with a throw of 47’ 5.5”, only one inch short of a personal record. The Columbia, S.C. native then moved onto the discus, which he won with a mark of 135’ 4”.
Continuing the dominance in the throwing events, McNeill set a school record in the hammer for the second straight week with a throw of 164’ 0.5”. McNeill also won the shot put with a throw of 44’ 9.75”. Falling just short of the trifecta, the Summerville native finished second in the discus with a mark of 128’ 11.25”.
Senior Alex Croskey won the fourth throwing event of the day with a 128’ 11.25” mark in the hammer. The final throwing title came as junior Allison Taylor won the women’s javelin competition. The Lexington, Ky. native threw the javelin 115’ 1” to claim the event title.
Heading to the track, junior Tasha Sanders broke the school record in the 100m hurdles in dominating fashion as she ran 15.05. The Summerville native broke her own school record mark of 15.28, set last weekend at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, and is one of the most dominating record setting time in school history as she topped her own mark by more than 0.2 seconds.
Freshman Katheryn Gatewood shaved some time of her personal-best mark in the 800m, running 2:22.22. Her previous-best time in the 800m was set last week in Conway, S.C. with a mark of 2:22.68.
Freshman Isaiah Campbell placed fourth in the 100m dash as he beat his personal-best time by 0.35 seconds. Campbell, a native of Los Angeles, Calif., ran 11.20 as he edged teammate Wesley Merriweather who finished fifth with a time of 11.26.
The Citadel takes a week off before heading to VMI in Lexington, Va. on March 31 for the inaugural Military Classic track and field meet, featuring The Citadel, Air Force, Army, VMI, the Merchant Marine Academy and the Coast Guard Academy.
For complete coverage of Bulldog Track and Field, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
College of Charleston Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
CofC Overcomes Weather at Winthrop Duals
Gusty winds caused timing malfunctions and altered performance times for many, but the College of Charleston's Amy Laughlin made the best of the situation, finishing first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:51.81 on Saturday in women's track and field action at the Winthrop Duals in Rock Hill, S.C.
Wells Trompeter trailed Laughlin in the 1,500 meter run to finish second with a time of 4:56.53. Karen Corson finished second in 3,000 meter run with a time 10:37.60.
Emily Jackson posted a time of 00:26.73 in the 200-meter dash, and Kirsten Schumy finished with a time of 1:12.96 in the 400-meter hurdles.
Charleston's 4x400 meter relay team -- Jackson, Schumy, Heather Collier and Dominique Boone -- finished first with a time of 4:09.78, and the 4X100 meter relay team -- Jackson, Collier, Boone and Summer Chambless -- clocked 00:51.27 for fourth.
In the field events, Boone jumped 4-10 in the high jump, followed by her 10.98 meter performance in the triple jump. Alicia Sims and Collier each had 4-10 marks in the high jump.
Chambless and Jessica Cumbee, finished first and second, respectively, in the pole vault with marks of 3.05 meters and 2.59 meters. Lyndsay Smith had a mark of 16.78 meters in the javelin throw.
The College of Charleston will travel to Clemson, S.C., Mar. 23-24 for the Clemson Relays.
Davidson’s Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
CHARLOTTE, N.C.? Senior Douglas Noreen (Apex, N.C.) and Will Funderburg (Buford, Ga.) each placed in the top-10 in their respective events to lead the Davidson men's track and field team at the Charlotte 49er Classic on Friday and Saturday.
Noreen earned a time of 3:56.98 in the 1500-meter event to place eight out of 72 runners. His time was just short of his personal-best (3:54), which was set at the Southern Conference Championships last spring. The senior also competed in the 3000-meter, securing a time of 8:51.52 for a 13th-place finish.
Also earning a top-10 finish in the running events was fellow senior captain David Ritchie (Austin, Texas) with a time of 55.23 in the 400-meter hurdles for a 10th-place finish.
In the field events, Funderburg scoring seventh and 16th place showings in the shot put and discus events. In the shot put he was just 1-3/4 inches from the school record as he finished with a throw of 50' 1-1/4", which was good for seventh at the classic. He then picked up a 16th place finish in the discus with a throw of 130' 3".
In his first-ever field event, junior Beaux Jones (Ruston, La.) earned a seventh-place showing in the javelin for the Wildcats with a throw of 161'
3".
Also having a nice afternoon on Saturday was sophomore Kwame Som-Pimpong (Greensboro, N.C.) in the triple jump with an 11th-place finish, earning a jump of 41' 3".
The Wildcats head travel to Atlanta, Ga. for the Emory Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 24. They were to also go to the Wake Open on Friday and Saturday, but will not attended the two-day event.
Davidson’s Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
ROCK HILL, S.C. ? Junior Brenna Burns and freshman Kristen Meister finished first in the 3,000-meters and high jump, respectively, while sophomore Kimberly Colley set a new Davidson standard in the 100 meters, as the Wildcat women tracksters opened the outdoor season at the Winthrop Duals on Saturday afternoon.
In the 3,000, Burns finished first in the 24-deep field, and with a time of 10:09.42, narrowly missed rewriting the school record at the same time.
Junior Megal Atias set the current standard of 10:09.22 last season.
Meister continued her dominant rookie season by finishing first in the high jump with a mark of 5-05.00. Meister finished first in the event and set a new Southern Conference Indoor record with an NCAA provisional mark last month at the Indoor conference championships.
Colley claimed a place in the record books with a time of 12.63 in the 100-meters to narrowly edge the 14-year-old record mark of 12.65, set by Sharon Bryant in 1983. Colley is already a member of the school-record holding outdoor 4x100-meters relay team.
The women's track team will travel to head coach Jen Straub's alma mater to participate in the Wake Forest Invitational next weekend on Sat., March 24 in Winston-Salem.
Furman Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Furman Track & Field Opens Outdoor Season at Winthrop Invitational
Rock Hill, S.C. - The Furman men's and women's track and field teams opened the 2007 outdoor season at the Winthrop Invitational on Saturday afternoon. On the ladies side, Chibuzo Aguocha won both of her events, taking first place in the long jump and the triple jump. David Moseley also earned the top place in the javelin throw with his throw of 51.89m.
Aguocha's long jump of 5.68m was more than half a meter longer than any of her competition. Junior Rebecca Mullen nearly took top honors in the 800m run, coming in less than a second off the winner with her time of 2:21.80. Senior McKenzie Sharpe took fifth place in the same event with a mark of 2:22.44. Junior Whitney Jones was a top-five finisher for the Lady Paladins, taking third place in the 100m hurdles at 15.02.
Sophomores Patrick Morgan and Alex Plasencia took second place in the 800m run and the 3000m run, respectively. Morgan crossed the finish line in 2:01.98 and Plasencia finished in 9:13.29. Three Paladins earned fourth-place honors: Jed Wilkerson with a time of 2:04.44 in the 800m run, Steve Adams in the shot put with a throw of 13.08m and Doug Sellers with a mark of 37.38m.
The Paladin track and field teams will be back in action next Friday, March 23 at the Clemson Relays on the campus of Clemson University.
Furman Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Furman Finishes in Fifth Place at 2007 SoCon Indoor Track & Field Championships
Clemson, S.C. -- The Lady Paladins earned 42 points to finish in fifth place at the 2007 Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships held on the campus of Clemson University. Appalachian State edged out Western Carolina for its seventh consecutive crown, earning 161 points compared to 159.5 by the Catamounts.
Furman placed three individuals in the top five of the 800m run, with McKenzie Sharpe earning eight points for her second place finish. Sharpe crossed the finish line in 2:14.95. Rebecca Mullen came in fourth place with a mark of 2:18.27, earning five points and Lindsey Barker contributed four points with her fifth-place time of 2:20.50.
Chibuzo Aguocha picked up two second-place medals at the championships, earning 16 total team points. Aguocha placed second in the long jump with a mark of 5.94m and in the triple jump with a mark of 12.35m.
The Lady Paladins' distance medley team of Mullen, Barker, Sharpe and Brittany Johnson picked up a fourth-place finish with a time of 12:18.81. Trina Small joined Mullen, Barker and Sharpe in a fifth-place showing in the 4x400m run.
The Furman track & field teams will begin the outdoor season on March 16 at the USC Invitational in Columbia, S.C.
Women's Team Scores 1. Appalachian State 161 2. Western Carolina 159.5 3. Georgia Southern 122.5 4. Chattanooga 46 5. Furman 42 6. Elon 40 7. The Citadel 38 8. Davidson 37 9. College of Charleston 16 10. UNC Greensboro 0
Georgia Southern Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Eagle Throwers Compete at Georgia Relays
ATHENS, GA ? Three track and field team members traveled across state to compete in the throwing events at the Georgia Relays this past Friday and Saturday (March 16-17).
Senior Emily Greeson (Calhoun, Ga./Gordon Central), junior Monique Pitts (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood) and newcomer Jessica Irizarry (Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) each finished in the top ten of the Hammer Throw Friday night. Greeson took fourth with a distance of 152’02”. Pitts and Irizarry claimed back-to-back finishes (sixth and seventh) with marks of 150’01” and 146’01”, respectively.
Greeson finished her efforts for the weekend in the Shot Put event, coming in second with a distance of 44’04.25”.
Returning on Saturday, Irizarry was the sole Eagle throwing in the Javelin event and obtained a distance of 106’03.
Pitts closed out competition for the Eagles with a distance of 132’06” in the Discus, a seventh place finish.
“The throwers [Greeson, Pitts & Irizarry] did a great job last week at Coastal Carolina and we wanted to continue that success through this weekend” said head coach Natalie Smith. “They stayed at GSU over Spring Break [Mar. 12-16] and continued practicing for the Georgia meet. I’m really proud of the effort and dedication they put forth this past week.”
The rest of the Eagles will join Greeson, Pitts and Irizarry as they take the road to Auburn, Ala. for the Spring Time Invitational next Saturday, Mar. 24.
UNCG Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
CHARLOTTE, NC ? Despite off-and-on rain showers and near freezing temperatures, the UNC Greensboro track and field squads began their outdoor season on Friday at the 49er Classic in Charlotte.
Friday’s action consisted mostly of the long distance races. UNCG senior Nick Vaccaro finished 19th in the 1500 meters, winning his individual heat with a time of 4:02.19. That time was 12 one-hundredths of a second better than his time in last year’s Southern Conference Championship meet.
Also on the men’s side, senior Keith Gruchacz placed 20th in the 5000 meters with a time of 15:37.84, a personal best.
On the women’s side, senior Kathy Oldham recorded a time of 5:09.91 in the 1500 meters, good for 41st place.
Action at the 49er Classic continues on Saturday morning.
AGATE
Men’s Results (UNCG only): 1500 meters: 19. Nicolas Vaccaro 4:02.19; 5000 meters: 20. Keith Gruchacz 15:37.84.
Women’s Results (UNCG only): 1500 meters: 41. Kathy Oldham 5:09.91.
Rutz breaks own record in 3000 to lead UNCG on Day 2 of 49er Classic
CHARLOTTE, NC ? Xavier Rutz broke his own school record in the 3000 meters on his way to a third place finish to highlight UNC Greensboro’s second day at the 49er Classic track and field meet on Saturday.
Rutz, a junior from Cary, NC, crossed the line in 8:38.42, trimming 12 one-hundredths of a second off of the record he set in the same meet last year.
Highlighting the women’s action on Saturday, Jess Weber finished 18th in the 3000 meters in a time 11:04.28.
UNCG returns to action next weekend at the Wake Forest Open.
AGATE
Men’s Results (UNCG only) 800 meters: 52. T.J. Wyatt 2:04.97, 54. Tim Kwak 2:05.79; 3000 meters: 3. Xavier Rutz 8:38.42, 22. Josh Wyatt 9:02.42, 56. Lincoln Bennett 10:00.22; 3000 meter steeplechase: 10. Ryan Rodd 9:59.64, 17. Justin Ruppe 10:56.37.
Women’s Results (UNCG only): 3000 meters: 18. Jess Weber 11:04.26; 3000 meter steeplechase: 6. Carly Magin 12:35.60.
Western Carolina Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
TBA
Wofford Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Brooks sets new school record at Winthrop Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Bryan Brooks of the Wofford men’s track and field team became the new school record holder for his 9:20.34 run in the 3000 meter at the Winthrop Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Brooks, a freshman from West Columbia, S.C., notched a seventh-place finish for his effort in the team’s opening meet of the outdoor season.
Senior Jason McElveen also earned a seventh-place finish in the 100m dash with a time of 11.45.
Brian Smith added another top-10 finish in the 800m run with a 2:07.12, the seventh-best time in the 10-runner field.
FULL WOFFORD MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS
Pl. Name Time
100m dash
7 Jason McElveen 11.45
200m dash
6 Colin Riddle 23.83
7 Adam Lesko 24.40
400m dash
10 Colin Riddle 58.11
800m dash
7 Brian Smith 2:07.12
1500m run
11 Justin Hunter 4:32.15
-- Chris Williams DNF
3000m run
7 Bryan Brooks 9:20.34
12 Josh Shumaker 10:15.25
Wofford Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Belcher earns second-place finish at Winthrop Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. ? Crystal Belcher of the Wofford women’s track and field team earned a second-place finish at the Winthrop Invitational in the women’s javelin throw with a toss of 32.58 meters Saturday afternoon.
Belcher’s throw edged out 10 other competitors in the 12-person field. Allison Taylor of The Citadel took first place with a pitch of 35.08m.
Full Wofford women’s results from Winthrop Invitational
Pl. Name Time/Distance
200m dash
10 Megan Klipfel 29.13
11 Ro Rogers 33.51
400m dash
7 Megan Klipfel 1:07.20
8 Ro Rogers 1:21.04
800m run
14 Jessie Sahms 2:55.68
15 Aimee Caswell 3:07.24
3000m run
14 Lauren Bosshardt 11:27.00
16 Mandy Mills 11:29.50
20 Justina Oliva 11:55.50
21 Kari Harris 12:05.50
Javelin Throw
2 Crystal Belcher 32.58m
12 Regina Fuller 10.98m