ETSU Niswonger Invitational
Appalachian State (men)
Appalachian State (women)
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. In just their second meet of the season, the Appalachian Track and Field team finished the second day of events at the East Tennessee Niswonger Meet on a high note. Although no team scoring took place, numerous Mountaineers had strong showings in their respective events.
On the men’s side, the Apps had five men place in the top ten in the 5000m run. Leading the way was senior Brian Deal, notching a third place finish with a time of 15:07.61. Right on the heel’s of Deal were his four teammates, Asmeron Desta, Phil Mitchell, Ryan O’Keefe and Brendon Helms, who all grabbed the fifth through eight spots.
Sophomore Nick O’Keefe also did well in the distance events, as he finished seventh in the mile run with a time of 4:29, while freshman Brooks Forsythplaced 11th.
In the 3000m run, sophomore Josh Houserfinished seventh with a time of 8:43.
Veterans Ricky Harris and Joel Gaddy led the Mountaineers in the long jump, earning the third and fourth spots. Harris, who has already gotten a provisional bid this season in the event, leapt 24-04.50, Gaddy was right behind him with a jump of 23-06.75. Freshman Phillip Bush (Salisbury, N.C./North Rowan) finished seventh, with junior Mark Sturgis grabbing the ninth place spot.
Gaddy and Sturgis also were stellar in the triple jump, as Gaddy finished fourth in his flight with a jump of 49-01.00 and Sturgis placed fifth, jumping 48-10.75.
Appalachian also had four athletes compete in the pole vault, with freshman Mike Wilson placing 13th with a vault of 14-06.00, while teammates Ryan Twiford, Justin Hunnicutt and Matt Boruff notched the 16-18 spots.
Senior Wes Kiser posted a solid showing in shot put, finishing fourth with a throw of 50-10.25, while freshman Jerod Gardner placed 11th.
The Mountaineer women were impressive as well throughout the day.
In the 3000m run, senior Jen Povick finished fourth with a time of 10:23.48. while teammates Hannah Parks and Charlotte Walshplaced sixth and seventh, respectively.
Appalachian also did well in the other two distance events, as senior Kala Robertson took home fifth in the 1 mile run, and senior Anna Baker grabbed ninth place, along with junior Ashley Norris notching a 12th place finish in the 5000m run.
Sophomore Ashley McKiverfinished strong in the 60m dash, as she placed tenth with a time of 7.80.
Coming off a solid performance from Friday’s action, Danielle Thorpe earned the runner-up spot in the triple jump with a jump of 40-11.00 while standout Vonteena Knotts posted a fourth place finish, jumping 40-07.75. Thorpe and Knotts also competed in the long jump, with Thorpe jumping 19-03.25 and Knotts 18-11.25 in their respective flights.
Rounding out the meet, Shea Snow finished third in the pole vault, while Lilly Tallent grabbed a third place finish in the shot put in her flight and Adrienne Alexander threw 44-09.50, good enough to earn third in the weight throw.
The Mountaineers will continue the 2008 campaign next weekend, January 25-26, as the team heads to Clemson, S.C. to compete in the Clemson Multi-Event Meet.
Furman (women)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Paladin indoor track teams competed at the Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State University this weekend.
The Lady Paladins turned in some good results in several events, including freshman Jenna Callahan's mark of 5:24.71 in the 1 mile run and Brittany Johnson's 10:42.04 time in the 3,000m run. Senior Whitney Jones ran a 9.33 in the 60m hurdles, while senior Chibuzo Aguocha recorded a 5.28m mark in the long jump event.
The Paladin men's team was also successful against some tough competition. Junior Patrick Morgan placed first in his heat in the 1 mile run with a time of 4:15.94. Four Paladins competed in the 5,000m run, with junior Alex Plasencia recording a time of 15:27.04 to finish first for the Paladins.
The track teams will continue competition on February 2 at the UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Georgia Southern (women)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. ? The Georgia Southern track & field team concluded the Niswonger Invitational with a strong performance from Lynndsey Hyter who excelled in several events over the two day contest.
The redshirt-freshman was successful in the (flight 3) finals of the long jump event, jumping to a first-place finish with a leap of 18’05.25”. It was also the longest jump of the competition. Hyter was also successful in the (flight 1) finals of the triple jump. She finished the meet tied for first with a jump of 36’10.25”.
Sophomore Demetrise Anthony continued her dominance racing to a time of 7.74 in the 60m finals. The Manchester, Ga. native finished third in the event, but excelled in the triple jump posting a mark of 40’.
Equally as impressive was GSU’s 4x400m relay team which earned a time of 3:55.16, good enough for a fifth place finish in the finals. Junior Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) ran to a third place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:25.28.
The Eagles are back on the track Friday, February 1, 2008 as they head to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete in a meet hosted by the University of North Carolina. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Western Carolina (men and women)
The Western Carolina University Indoor Track and Field Teams turned in another dominating performance at the Niswonger Invitational this past weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. The Catamounts turned in four victories, with two wins each for the men’s and women’s teams. Overall, WCU combined for nine top-three finishes and 21 top-tens in the two-day event.
Sophomore Matt Evans opened up the winning ways for the Catamounts with his jump-off victory in the men’s high jump. He finished the event tied with Jerome McKinzie from Kennesaw State with a final height of 2.05 meters, then took the head-to-head jump-off with McKinzie by clearing 2.06 meters. Coming in with a tie for third place was teammate Daniel Joseph, who jumped a high of 1.95 meters.
Also taking home top honors for the men’s team was the 4x400-meter relay “A” team of Manteo Mitchell, Dominique Young, Drew Tucker, Zeb Johnson. The team followed up their preliminary victory with top honors in the finals, coming in at 3:16.94. The WCU “C” team also added a top-five finish in the 4x400-meter event, finishing in fifth place with a time of 3:26.07.
Reigning Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week Kerrie Savery continued her winning ways with a victory in the women’s one mile run, finishing with a time of 5:12.53. Western was well represented on the leaderboard in the event, with junior Megan Issaacs joining Savery on the podium, as she was the runner-up in the event with a time of 5:15.50. Rounding out the Catamount contingent in the top-ten was freshman Jordan Gaddy, who came in fourth place at 5:19.69.Savery added another top-five finish for the weekend, finishing in fourth place overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.31, a full two seconds ahead of fifth place.
The Catamounts completed the sweep of the 4x400-meter relay events when the WCU women’s “A” team won their event in a time of 3:46.31. It was the second victory of the year for the “A” team, consisting of Janet Carothers, Shalyn McMichael, Felica Paulding, Raquel Ramseur, who also took home top honors in the 4x400-meter relay at the ASU Invitational in December.
The Women’s Distance Medley Relay team, who were victorious their last time out at the UNC Invitational, brought home third place in the event over the weekend, coming in just behind the two teams from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The team of Kerrie Savery, Tangelia Johnson, Jordan Gaddy, Megan Isaacs shaved 18 seconds of their winning time from the last meet, setting a new season-best mark, at 12:24.84. the WCU “B” team added to the team’s top-ten finish total with a ninth-place result at 13:02.58.
Not to be outdone, the Men’s Distance Medley Relay team joined their WCU counterparts with a third place finish in their event, coming in at 10:32.08.
Freshman Shalyn McMichael brought home third place in the women’s 400-meter run with a time of 56.91, a mere half-second off of her career best performance in the event, which she turned in at the ASU Invitational.
The teams will now take a couple weeks off of competition before heading up north to Ohio for the Akron Open, taking place on February 2. They will then head to Boone, N.C. the following week to compete in the ASU Limited Open, Feb. 8.
Elon (women)
Johnson City, Tenn. ? The Elon University track and field team turned in several solid performances at the Niswonger Invitational over the weekend at the Memorial Center on the East Tennessee State University campus.
Senior Dominique Price qualified for a spot in the final of the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in with the best collegiate qualifying time ? second overall ? in the preliminaries at 8.90 seconds.
Sophomore Jennine Strange recorded an indoor personal best in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line in 2:21.90 to place 12th overall in the seeded portion of the race.
Freshmen Justine Robertson and Krystal Paszkeicz battled back and forth in the shot put to establish a new Phoenix record in that event. Robertson started the show, breaking Paszkeicz's previous milestone (set on her last throw of the competition at 11.70m (38-4.75) at Liberty on Dec. 1). Paszkeicz responded on her last throw of the competition, resetting the school record with a 11.74m (38-6.25) toss.
The 4x400 meter relay team ? Sophomore Jennine Strange, freshman Sarah Skogen, freshman Melissa Turowski and sophomore Andrea March ? placed 11th out of 23 teams, turning in a season-best time of 4:05.14.
Chattanooga (men and women)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. ? Five Chattanooga runners finished in the top 10 of the Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State Saturday at the Memorial Center.
Sabrina Lefort finished eight seconds off the top time in the women’s 3000 meter invitational run with a time of 10:21.82 to place third overall. In the men’s 3000 meter invitational run, junior Kevin Huwe finished 10th in a time of 9:04.90.
Chattanooga’s underclassmen also had a strong showing Saturday. Freshman Meredith White finished third in the women’s unseeded Mile Run at 5:19.68, just seven seconds off the top time. Freshman Monika Groppe was sixth in the women’s 800 unseeded run at 2:28.16 while classmate Tara Gietma was ninth in the women’s 5000 meter run at 18:28.56. Freshman Jordyn Radke ran the event in a time of 19:18.55.
Rookie Matt Baltimore was 11th overall in the men’s 3000 meter unseeded run at 9:02.53 and sophomore Stephen George finished the men’s 800 meter unseeded run in a time of 2:03.36.
The Mocs and Lady Mocs will return to action at the University of Kentucky’s Rod McCravey Invitational Feb. 2-3 in Lexington, Ky.
Women 3000 meter run ? invitational
3. Sabrina Lefort SR 10:21.82
Men 3000 meter run ? invitational
10. Kevin Huwe JR 9:04.90
Women Mile run ? unseeded
3. Meredith White FR 5:19.68
Women 800 meter run ? unseeded
6. Monika Groppe FR 2:28.16
Women 5000 meter run
9. Tara Gietma FR 18:28.56
16. Jordyn Radke FR 19:18.55
Men 3000 meter run - unseeded
11. Matt Baltimore FR 9:02.53
Men 800 meter run ? unseeded
13. Stephen George SO 2:03.36
UNC Invitational
College of Charleston (women)
Summer Chambless set the school record in the pole vault with a height of 10’8” as the College of Charleston track and field team opened its 2008 schedule at the Eddie and Jo Smith UNC Classic.
The distance medley relay team ran a 14:08.46 to finish second to UNC. The 4x4 relay team posted a top-10 finish with a 4:13.72 which was good for eighth.
Freshman Becky Stewart posted the Cougars only top-five finish with a time of 5:22.58 in the one-mile run. Erin Stoddard followed with a 5:41.20 which was good for 15th.
Mary Zolga recorded a 1:01.60 in the 400-meter dash on her way to an 11th-place finish. Zolga was followed by Emily Jackson (1:03.99) and Brynne Johnson (1:04.64) who finished 18th and 19th, respectively.
Sakskia Kalmeijer ran a 27.72 for a 17th-place finish in the 200-meter dash, while Isabel Boersma who finished 19th with a 28.19.
The track and field team will be back in action February 1-2 when they return to Chapel Hill, N.C. Results will be available at www.CofCSports.com.
Citadel (men and women)
Chapel Hill, N.C. ? Jamel Brown came within a few hundredths of a second from matching his own school record in the 60m hurdles as The Citadel track and field team got the 2008 season into full swing at the Eddie and Jo Smith UNC Classic Saturday. The team recorded 16 top-10 finishes on the day.
Brown opened the day in the preliminary heats of the 60m hurdles with a second-place finish, running 8.51. That time was topped shortly thereafter when the redshirt junior ran 8.49 in the finals to finish fifth. That mark came five-hundredths of a second away from matching his 8.44 school record time in the event that he ran at the 2007 Southern Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 18 of last year.
Brown continued his stellar weekend with a personal record time in the 400m, running 52.93 to finish second in his preliminary heat.
In another preliminary heat of the 400m, the Bulldogs finished 2-3 as senior Jonathan Vallejo recorded the runner-up finish with a time of 52.17 in his first appearance since an injury sidelined him at the 2007 SoCon Outdoor Championships. Junior Bryan Hladik followed Vallejo in that heat with a time of 53.44.
Junior Zach Johnson finished seventh in the 800m, running a personal-best time of 1:59.44. Johnson’s previous top time was 2:00.99 set last February.
The Bulldog men finished 1-2-4 in the 5,000m run with redshirt sophomore Alex Anderson leading the way with a time of 15:40.30. Anderson was followed by freshman Zach Yereb’s 16:42.63 while sophomore Daniel Knight finished fourth with a time of 16:54.53.
On the women’s side, senior Jodi Whittle ran an impressive 10.03 in the 60m hurdles, the second-fastest time in school history, in her first performance in the race. Whittle also excelled in the 400m as she finished fourth in her preliminary heat with a time of 59.06.
The Citadel ladies finished 1-3 in the 5,000m run as sophomore Natalie Wolin won the race with a time of 19:02.48 while junior Erin Ritter finished third, running 19:41.84.
The Citadel returns to action on Jan. 26 when the Bulldogs head to Gainesville, Fla. and the University of Florida’s O’Connell Center for the Tom Jones Memorial Classic. For complete coverage of Bulldog Track and Field, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
Davidson (men)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? The Davidson Wildcats men's track team kicked off the indoor season on Saturday afternoon, traveling the short distance to the UNC Classic on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
The Wildcats turned in their strongest performances in the mid-distance events, as junior Alex Hoyt finished 10th in the mile with a time of 4:27.11, and senior Brad Troxell placed 12th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:01.82.
Sophomore Blake Evitt (15th, 4:33.81) and sophomore Peter Bruton (16th; 4:33.88) also competed for the 'Cats in the mile, while freshman Jonathan Koch (16th; 2:05.49) and sophomore Quin Patton (18th; 2:05.83) did the same in the 800 meters.
Freshman Will Ames represented Davidson in the 200 (24.79) and 400 (54.09) meters, finishing 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Junior Kwame Som-Pimpong had the team's top time in the 60 meters, placing 25th with a time of 7.34.
The Wildcats will return to action on Sat., Jan. 26, when they travel to Fairfax, Va. and the campus of George Mason for the Patriot Games.