Elon Opens Season at Liberty Kickoff Invitational
LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Elon tracksters opened their indoor season Thursday afternoon at the Liberty Kickoff Invitational in Lynchburg, Va.
In the 60-meter dash, Amanda Rice clocked a time of 9.49 for an eighth-place overall finish. Monique Vines crossed the finish line in 8.16 and was the eighth-best collegiate runner.
Amy Salek began the season with a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 60.64. Jennine Strange placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.47.
Led by Lauren Hawkesworth with a third-place overall and second-place collegiate finish, each of the three Elon triple jumpers finished in the top six. Hawkesworth recorded a distance of 36'3 ¾" followed by Monique Vines with a fourth-best collegiate jump of 36'6 ¾". Janelle McNeil rounded out the Elon performers as the sixth-best collegiate with a distance of 34'6 ¼".
Hawkesworth led the Phoenix in the long jump with a distance of 16'8 ¾" and a third-place finish. Vines recorded the fifth-best collegiate distance with a jump of 16'8".
Justine Robertson recorded a distance of 38'10 ½" for a second-place finish in the shot put. Alyssa Girvin followed with a seventh-place performance with a throw of 30'2 ¼". Robertson later threw a 41'3 ¾" in the weight throw.
The 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Strange, Melissa Turowski, Andrea March and Salek, finished the day with a fifth-place finish and a time of 4:09.06.
The Elon indoor track and field team returns to action on January 23 when it travels to the University of North Carolina for the Carolina Classic.
College of Charleston Begins Season at Roaring Tiger Opener
CLEMSON, S.C. - College of Charleston's women's track & field team recorded six top-10 finishes at the Roaring Tiger Opener on Friday. The Cougars finished fifth out of 11 teams who kicked off their 2009-10 season at the Clemson Indoor Track.
"This was definitely the best opener we've ever had," head coach Amy Seago said. "We are showing so much more potential this year and this was a great start."
Junior Mary Zolga (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) set school records in the 300-meter and 500-meter races. Her time of 1:17.92 in the 500 meters earned her a fifth-place finish. She also clocked a time of 42.44 seconds in the 300-meter dash as the first CofC athlete to run that distance. She placed 13th in a tight race, just three seconds behind the champion, Kristine Scott of Clemson.
Senior runner Emily Nagle (Annapolis, Md./Richmond) finished third in her first time competing in the mile. She crossed the finish line with a time of 5:31.57.
The Cougars had three athletes perform well in the 60-meter hurdles. Freshman Jelain McArthur (Laurens, S.C./Laurens District) set a College of Charleston record with her 11th-place time of 9.16 seconds. Just .2 seconds behind her was junior Isabel Boersma (Franklin, Tenn./Ravenwood), recording a personal-best time of 9.36 to come in 15th. Also setting a personal record was junior Brynne Johnson (Centreville, Ohio/Centreville) who finished the race in 9.81 seconds. All three performances are among the top-10 in CofC school history.
Emily Smith (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) started her sophomore campaign on a high note, earning second-place honors with a height of 5'6½" in the high jump. She was just 1¼" behind Clemson's Liz Buchholz. Following Smith was Boersma who recorded a height of 5'1" to place fifth.
Freshman pole vaulter Chelsea Taylor (Seneca, S.C./Northwestern) also finished in the top five in her event. Her jump of 10'11¾" placed her among the top-10 performers in school history.
The Cougars take a break before returning to action on Jan. 23 at the UNC Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Appalachian State Men Open Season at Appalachian Invitational
BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State men's track and field opened the 2009-10 indoor campaign Saturday, hosting the Appalachian Invitational at the Homes Convocation Center.
Malcolm Styers got his junior season started in style, posting a new personal best of 58-02 in the hammer throw to take home first place. Sophomore Jared Stalling captured sixth in the hammer throw with a toss of 52-02.5.
Matt Boruff was a key contributor for the Apps, placing fourth in both the 55m hurdles and the high jump. Boruff's time of 7.67 in the 55m hurdles was just .32 seconds behind ETSU's Mike James, who took home first place. Freshman Brad Triplett posted a leap of 6-04 in the high jump to tie for fourth place with Boruff.
Freshman Landon Powell and sophomore Dennis Moore took home top-six finishes in the 55m dash. Powell placed fourth with a time of 6.37, which moved him into the top-10 all time at ASU in his first meet in the Black and Gold. Moore, last year's SoCon Freshman of the Year during indoor season, carded a 6.48 to finish in a tie for sixth.
In the 400m dash, ASU took home fifth, sixth, and eighth places. John Svoboda led the Mountaineer contingency with a time of 49.93 to claim fifth place. Svoboda was followed closely by junior Carlos Carter who posted a 49.93 to finish sixth, and junior Nick Zeller who posted a 50.38 to finish eighth.
Svoboda also led a trio of Mountaineers who earned top-eight finishes in the 200m dash. Svoboda claimed runner-up with a time of 22.30. He was followed by Landon Powell (22.56, fourth place) and DeSean Pearce (22.86, eighth place). Pearce also finished tied for fourth in the long jump with a leap 22-03.5.
The Mountaineers placed two athletes in the top-three of the shot put, as Styers took home second place with a throw of 51-03, and Jerod Gardner captured third place with a toss of 49-08.25.
Appalachian also placed four athletes in the top-eight of the pole vault with Ryan Twiford as the headliner. The junior claimed third place with a jump of 14-11. Matt Boruff, Landon Patterson, and Mike Wilson took home fourth, sixth, and seventh place honors respectively.
ASU's Patrick Morgan claimed the top spot in the 3000m run, posting a time of 8:40.04 to easily outdistance ETSU's Mike Deren by over 10 seconds.
The Mountaineers will be out of action until January 8, when they travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete in the UNC Opener.
Appalachian State Women Start Season at Appalachian Invitational
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State women's track and field opened the 2009-10 indoor season Saturday, hosting the Appalachian Invitational at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone.
Senior Whitney Smyre won the shot put with a throw of with a career-best throw of 44-11. Freshman Gayshawna Watkins placed fourth in the shot with a toss of 31-09. Smyre also claimed a runner-up finish in the weight throw with a toss of 57-09, just 4 inches shy of the winning toss by Kennesaw State's Jessica Lumpkin.
Junior Michelle Brutus took home fifth place in 55m hurdles with a time of 8.39.
Junior Bianca Harvey captured first place in the long jump with a leap of 18-08.5, classmate Kiara Crutchfield placed fourth with a jump of 17-10.75. Harvey also claimed fifth-place in the triple jump with a jump of 37-09.25.
In the 400m dash, sophomore Asia Dunlap carded an eighth-place finish with a time of 59.02.
The Mountaineers took home the top two positions in the high jump, with juniors Rebecca Hazeltine and Bridgett Hills both clearing 5-06 to sweep first and second place honors.
Appalachian also had a great deal of success in the pole vault, as seniors Ashley Beale and Julie Ward took home second and third place honors respectively.
Senior Hannah Parks claimed first-place in the 3000m run with a time of 10:52.88. Sophomore Kristen Azarelo finished fifth in the 3000m with a time of 11:59.21.
The Mountaineers will be out of action until January 8, when they travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete in the UNC Opener.
Western Carolina Opens Season at Appalachian Invitational
BOONE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men and women track and field teams opened up the 2009 season at the Appalachian State Invitational on Saturday. The Catamounts completed 15 top-3 finishes, including capturing four first places titles.
All four individual titles for the Catamounts came in the running events as Felicia Paulding grabbed the first individual title with a time of 6.95 seconds in the 55-meter dash, while teammate Emma Bowers followed in second with a time of 6.99.
Junior Janet Carothers returned for a running event as she captured the women's 400-meter dash title with a time of 55.60 seconds. Benny Davis was the top men runner in the 400m with a time of 48.50 seconds.
Tierra Johnson brought the third WCU title of the day with a top finish of 2:16.50 in the 800-meter run. Hannah Bowers followed in second at 2:16.70. Drew Tucker placed second in the men's event with a time of 1:54.50.
Both the men and women finished strong in the 4x400-meter relays as the Catamount women placed first with a time of 3:44.00 and the men second with a time of 3:14.00 in the race.
Senior Morgan Joseph tallied a time of 8.38 seconds in the women's 55-meter hurdles for a fifth place finish. On the men's side, two Catamounts placed in the top-three as freshman Cordelle Livingston placed second with a time of 7.45 seconds and Christian Bethune, third, with a mark of 7.55 in the men's 55-meter hurdles.
Dominique Young earned second as he was just one second away from the individual title with a time of 6.26 seconds in the 55-meter dash.
Sherelle Froneberger (25.20 seconds, 9th) and Ronald Duncan (21.90 seconds, 7th) were the top finishers in the men and women's 200-meter dash. Sophomore Josey Weaver placed third in the Men 3K run with a time of 8:40.00.
Western Carolina fared strong in the 12 field events in Saturday's meet.
Tia Jones finished the highest for WCU in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.90-meters for a third place marking. Jones again followed with a combined 12.19-meters in the triple jump for fifth in the 27 participant event. On the men's side, Alex Dollard earned fifth with 7.21-meters in the long jump. Livingston earned seventh with a combined 14.49-meters in the men's triple jump event.
Carothers earned fourth with a distance of 1.68-meters in the high jump, while WCU's Matt Evans clinched second with 2.13-meters in the men's event. Kassie McKie garnered fourth after vaulting a distance of 3.54-meters in women's pole vault, while Michael O'Steen placed fourth with a distance of 4.75m.
In the shot put event, sophomore Deidra Morrison finished a team-high sixth place with a 12.80-meter throw. Morrison followed with another team-high in the weight throw for a distance of 15.40m (fifth place). Ryan Pless anchored a throw of 15.80-meters in the men's shot put for sixth place. Cale McDaniel earned a top-three finish with a throw of 17.50-meters in the men weight throw.
"Today was a good day to out there and line up against someone other than ourselves," noted coach Danny Williamson. "We had some people come away with good performances some people, while for others it was a learning experience."
Williamson says this first meet is a good indicator that the team is on the right track, "I was proud of our athletes and for those individuals who captured titles. We had a lot of good performances today and hopefully we can continue to improve. The good thing about this sport is that every meet is a learning experience and a stepping stone to the end of the season where we compete for the conference championship."
The Catamounts will resume the indoor season after the holiday break at the UNC Invitational on January 8 in Chapel Hill, N.C.