Western Carolina track and field competes at Appalachian Invitational
Boone, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's and women's track teams kicked off the 2008-2009 indoor season with an overall solid performance at the Appalachian Invitational Friday afternoon at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C. The two teams combined to have five winners, 44 top-ten performances and 15 podium finishes, including a 1-2-3 WCU finish in the men's 800 meter run, led by junior David Gift's winning time of 1:59.37 seconds.
Western's men squad paced the Catamounts with four individual first-place runs, including Manteo Mitchell breaking his Holmes Center-record from a year ago, with a 47.88 time in the 400-meter dash. Mitchell broke his own record by 22 seconds, with fellow teammates Benny Davis (5th) and John Oros (8th) posting top-ten finishes themselves. Dominique Young also took top honors for second year in a row with a victory in the 200-meter dash. Young was joined in the top-ten by freshman teammate Howard Thomson with a fifth place finish in his collegiate debut.
In the first two men's events on the day the Catamounts took fourth and fifth place respectively in the 55m Hurdles thanks to Jordan Blazer (4th), Christian Bethune (5th). Then in the second event WCU had two podium finishes in the 55 meter dash with Bethune second place finish followed by a third place run by Kevin Johnson.
Junior Alex Dollard took home a third place finish in the men's long jump event followed by two top-ten finishes in the triple jump event courtesy of senior Daniel Joeseph (7th) and freshman Cornelius Williams took home a tenth place finish. Sophomore Matt Evans duplicated his performance in last years ASU Invitational with another first place finish in the men's high jump, matching his mark of six feet, 9.75 inches from last season.
A couple of juniors helped the Catamounts in the men's shot put as Cale McDaniel took home a fourth place finish while Mike Osteen took home a fourth place finish as well in the men's pole vault event.
The Catamounts again placed two on the podium in the women's 400 meter dash, with sophomore Janet Carothers as the lone women's first place winner, and Shalyn McMichael taking home second place for the second year in a row. Carothers not only joined teammate Manteo Mitchell in the WCU sweep of the 400-meter dash, not to mention her time of 55.63 was a mere seven seconds ahead of her former teammate Raquel Ramseur's Holmes Center record of 55.70, which Carothers broke in the season opener.
Sophomore Felicia Paulding almost took home a first place finish settling for second in the women's 55 meter dash by a eight seconds to UNC Charlotte runner Lamarra Currie. Also junior-transfer from Georgia Southern Danielle Shaurette took home a third place finish in her debut for the Catamounts in the one mile event. Another Junior Tia Jones helped WCU captured a second place finish in the women's triple jump event.
Freshman Deirdra Morrison in her collegiate debut competed in the women's shot put and posted a solid fourth place finish, throwing 41 feet, 1.75 inches. Also making her collegiate debut with the Catamounts was freshman Laura Langley who also took home a fourth place finish in the women's high jump event.
Five of the eight WCU 4x400-meter relay teams took home top ten finishes, with the women's "A" team winning the event, and the "B" squad finishing in fourth, and the men's "A" winning their relay and "B" team coming fourth, respectively giving the Catamounts a sweep of the event.
This was the only meet for the Catamounts in 2008, as the team will not compete again until they travel to South Carolina for the Clemson Invitational on Jan. 10, 2009.
ASU women; men host Appalachian Invitational
Women
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's track and field posted solid performances Friday to kick off the 2008-09 indoor season. Three Mountaineers were individual champions, while numerous others recorded personal bests in their respective events.
Shea Snow (Boonville, NC/Starmount) began this season where she left off in the spring, winning the pole vault with an 11-11.75. Ashley Beale (Raleigh, N.C./SE Raleigh) placed third at 11-5.75, tying her personal best, which is the fourth spot on the career list.
Danielle Thorpe (Durham, N.C./Jordan) won the triple jump with a best mark of 40-6.75, while Crystal Dukes (Fayetteville, NC/EE Smith) was 11th with a 35-3.75.
Sophomore Kiara Crutchfield (Greensboro, NC/Ragsdale) ran a personal-best 8.37 in the 55m hurdles to place fourth overall and move into a tie with Porsha' Evans-Hardy (Winston-Salem, NC/RJ Reynolds) for eighth on the career list. Evans-Hardy placed eighth in the event at 8.51. Michelle Brutus (Ridge, NY./Longwood) ran an 8.80 for 11th place and Naadia Crutchfield (Greensboro, NC/Ragsdale) placed 14th with an 8.92.
Ashley McKiver (High Point, NC/TW Andrews) placed fifth in the 55m dash with a 7.21. Teammate Monica Johnson placed 12th with a time of 7.37.
In the 400m dash, Western Carolina's Janet Carothers set a Holmes Center record with a 55.63 while Lynda Hiller was the top ASU finisher in 10th place at 58.44.
In the weight throw, Whitney Smyre (Stoney Point, NC/Alexander Central) finished second with a best mark of 51-9.75. Former App Brittani Williams placed third at 50-9.25 while Carla Durham (Dallas, Ga./Hiram) was fifth at 48-4.75. She was followed by Michaela McGriff (Winston- Salem, NC/North Forsyth) in sixth place at 47-1.
In the other throwing event of the day, the shot put, Lily Tallent (Cherryville, NC/West Lincoln) had the best finish for the Apps, coming in sixth with a throw of 40-06. Smyre took home eighth place throwing 39-9.25. Williams won the event, throwing 42-10.25.
Rebecca Hazeltine (Weddington, NC/Weddington) took home the high jump title with a 5-8 mark. Not only did the height shatter her previous PR of 5-4.25, it placed her in a tie for third place on the ASU career list, set a new Appalachian facility record and tied her for the overall facility record. Bridgette Hills (Arden, NC/TC Roberson) finished third at 5-4.25.
For the long jump, Thorpe took second place with a 19-2.75 and Bianca Harvey (Fayetteville, NC/Douglas Byrd) placed third at 18-5. Kiara Crutchfield tied for sixth with a 17-6.
Ashley McKiver finished second in the 200m dash with a time of 25.56. Johnson was fifth at 25.72.
In the 4x400m relay, Western Carolina set a new HCC record at 3:48.16. The Mountaineers' A-team finished fifth at 4:03.49.
Virginia Tech's Tasmin Fanning ran a Holmes Center-record 9:08.77 in the 3000m to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Indoor Championships. The previous HCC record was 9:27.40.
The indoor season takes a one-month hiatus before resuming on January 17 at the Appalachian Open.
Men
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's track and field started the 2008-09 season on a strong note, as two Mountaineers won individual titles and numerous others improved their personal best in their respective events.
In the 55m hurdles, Daniel Neal overcame a slow start to post a third-place finish with a 7.63.
Defending outdoor pole vault champion Ryan Twiford finished second with a best mark of 15-7. The mark was a personal best for Twiford and moved him into a tie on ASU's all-time list in the sixth place. Mike Wilson finished third at 15-1 in the pole vault.
Ricky Harris set a new personal best and won the 55m dash with a 6.48. Freshman Dennis Moore tied for third at 6.51 and Neal placed sixth with a 6.53. Phillip Bush also set a PR with a 6.63. The sophomore placed 14th.
Harris also led the Apps in the long jump, finishing second overall with a leap of 22-11.75. Mark Sturgis came in fourth, with a jump of 22-9.75.
Malcolm Styers threw 55-9.75 in the weight throw to place third in the event. He was followed by Tim Daly at 52-8 and Jerod Gardner, who threw a personal-best 52-6 to finish fourth. Former Mountaineer Wes Kiser won the event with a 60-3.75.
In the shot put, Styers was third with a personal-best throw of 50-0.75, while Gardner was eighth at 48-10.25. Kiser was second at 50-8.25.
Western Carolina's Manteo Mitchell broke a Holmes Center record in the 400m dash at 47.88. The top ASU finisher was Johnny Svoboda in fourth place at 49.16.
Freshman Darius Purcell placed third in the high jump at 6-6. For the long jump, Ricky Harris took home second place with a 22-11.75. Mark Sturgis was fourth place with a mark of 22-9.75.
Svoboda placed fourth in the 200m dash with 22.17 while teammate Phillip Bush placed sixth with a 22.33. Dennis Moore ran a 22.47 for eighth place.
In the final event of the afternoon, the triple jump, Sturgis finished first with a jump of 49-9.25. Former Mountaineer Joel Gaddy was second, jumping 49-5.50, while Harris placed ninth.
The indoor season takes a one-month hiatus before resuming on January 17 at the Appalachian Open.
Davidson women compete at Appalachian Invitational
BOONE, N.C. -- The Davidson Wildcat women's track and field team kicked off the indoor season by setting a pair of school records at the Appalachian Invitational Friday evening.
Senior Kim Colley broke the school record with a time of 7.40 in the 55-meter dash, finishing in 16th place. Chieko Phillips ran the previous best of 7.48 in 2006. She was also just off Phillips' mark of 24.46 in the 200 meters with a 16th-place time of 26.49.
Freshman Danielle Wright broke a school record in the 400 meters, finishing 14th with a time of 59.62. Amaka Obidegwu ran the previous best time of 60:25 in 2007.
Senior Kennesia Martin finished seventh in the triple jump with a makr of 36 feet 5 3/4 inches.
Elon women compete at Liberty Kickoff Invitational
LYNCHBURG, Va. ? The Phoenix won three events, set two program records and tallied seven top-three finishes as Elon opened its season at the Liberty Kickoff Invitational women’s indoor track and field meet Thursday evening at the Tolsma Indoor Track Center.
“We had some really great performances for the first meet of the year and many of our returners are already way ahead at this point of the year than they were at the completion of last year,” coach Mark Elliston said. “The girls have really been training hard all semester and it was great to see all that hard work pay off. This meet was a great way to conclude the semester and head into the winter break before coming back for the bulk of the indoor season in January (beginning Jan. 24 at North Carolina).”
Elon junior and three-time All-Southern Conference athlete Jennine Strange covered the 800-meter run in 2:21.26 to seize another first-place finish while freshman teammate Amy Salek sprinted through the 400-meter dash in 58.68 seconds on her way to a runner-up finish. The Phoenix 4x400-meter relay team ? freshman Lauren Wilmer, Strange, sophomore All-Southern Conference performer Melissa Turowski and Salek ? scurried to second place with a time of 4:05.83.
The Elon long jump duo of junior Monique Vines (17-09.0) and sophomore Veronica Day (17-07.5) landed in first and second place. Day captured the triple jump title with a new Phoenix-record leap of 37-03.75 while sophomore Justine Robertson set a new Elon milestone in the weight throw with a heave of 12.75 meters and later placed third in the shot put with a throw of 11.73 meters.
CofC women compete at Christopher Newman University Holiday Open
NEWPORT NEWS, VA. --- The College of Charleston women's track and field team opened the 2008-09 indoor portion of their schedule at the Christopher Newman University Holiday Open in Newport News, Va. on Saturday.
Top performers on the day for the Cougars included Emily Smith, who set a school record with a 1.68-meter high jump to earn a top finish in the event. In the same event, Cathleen Wise earned a 12th place finish with a 1.53-meter jump.
In the long jump, Brynne Johnson placed 20th with a 4.81-meter effort, while in the 4x400 meter relay, the team of Laura Call, Isabel Boersma, Emily Reichbach and Mary Zolga placed 10th in a time of 4:13.70
The Cougars will be idle until Jan. 24 when they take part in the Carolina Classic.