Furman ? Tiger Invitational
Clemson, S.C. ? The Furman men's and women's track and field teams competed in their final meet before the 2009 Southern Conference Championships on Saturday at the Tiger Invitational on the campus of Clemson University. Senior Brittany Johnson and sophomore Monique Ositelu each earned first-place finishes to lead the Lady Paladins while senior Patrick Morgan placed third in the 800-meter run to lead the men.
Ositelu ran a personal best 2:16.98 in the 800, crossing the finish line more than four seconds faster than her previous best. Ositelu also teamed with Starr Belmont, Nodia Robinson and Ashley Tucker to earn a fifth-place showing in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:08.37.
Johnson ran a 10:29.72 in the 3000-meter run to earn her first top finish in that event. Freshman Charlee Coggins also performed well in the 3000, clocking a personal-record 10:48.48, which was good for a fourth-place finish. Robinson, running in her first collegiate track meet, posted a 2:20.13 in the 800, crossing the finish line in fourth place. Furman had three Lady Paladins finish in the top 10 of the 800 as Jenna Callahan took seventh place with a time of 2:25.06.
Freshman Rebecca Shelton finished eighth in the mile with a personal-best 5:28.48.
On the men's side, Morgan had another strong day, running a PR in the 800 with a time of 1:54.11. Rookie Lee Gilmer also ran his best-ever time in the 800, finishing in fifth place with a time of 1:55.40. Seniors Joseph Tenini and Alex Plasencia earned top-10 marks in the 3000. Tenini posted a personal best 8:54.54, good for sixth place. Plasencia ran a 9:00.47 to finish ninth.
Furman will be back at Clemson next weekend for the SoCon Championships. The meet will take place on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1.
Samford ? Tiger Invitational
CLEMSON, S.C. ---- The Samford University track and field teams wrapped up preparation for the Southern Conference Indoor Championships next week as it competed in the Tiger Invitational Saturday hosted by Clemson University. This was the second trip for the Bulldogs to Clemson in the past week, and Samford will make a third trip next weekend to participate in its first Southern Conference Championships.
“I think we know what has to be done next week at the conference meet,” Samford head coach Rod Tiffin said, “now it’s up to us to get in there and perform at our best. I cannot wait to watch our athletes perform next week. Hopefully, all our practice and hard work well pay off next week.”
Although Samford could not continue its streak of breaking school records, several Bulldogs walked away with personal bests in many events.
Donald Cooper and Chas Keithan both posted personal bests in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles. Cooper ran the dash course in 7.32 and the hurdles in 8.77 while Keithan ran the dash in 7.85 and the hurdles in 9.92.
Cavan Corcoran. Morgan Tyler and Christian McGuire all made the 60-hurdle finals while McGuire posted a personal best of 9.50.
Mary Barron took second place in the pole vault with a season-best height of 10’11.90” while Patrick Wells (15’07.00”) and Zac Epperson (14’07.20”) took first and third, respectively, in the men’s pole vault.
Ashley Dance just missed qualifying for the 60 finals but placed 10th in the 200-meter dash (26.18) with Ashley Flowers on her heels (25.30) taking 11th place.
Tyler placed eighth in the 400-meter run with a time of 59.11 while McGuire came in 14th with a time of 1:01.68. In the men’s event, Cooper took 14th (51.55), Keithan landed in 17th place (52.03) and Corcoran came in 22nd (53.66).
Blaise Carie took third in the men’s 3000-meter run with a time of 8:45.89 and came in fifth in the mile with a time of 4:23.80.
Finally, Tyler took second in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 37’07.20”.
The Bulldogs will go back to Clemson next weekend to compete in the Southern Conference Indoor Championships. The two-day event will begin Saturday, Feb. 28, at 9 a.m., with the women’s and men’s pentathlon events. The championships will wrap up on Sunday with an awards ceremony at 4:40 p.m.
The Citadel ? Tiger Invitational
Clemson, S.C. ? Freshman football standout Kevin Hardy won the long jump with a mark of 22’ 9.5” while several Citadel track athletes rewrote Bulldog history at the Tiger Invitational at the Clemson Indoor Track and Field Complex on Feb. 21 in Clemson, S.C.
This was Hardy’s first collegiate competition after posting 24’ 2.5” in the long jump and becoming a state champion at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Fla. Hardy also earned the sixth all-time spot in The Citadel’s indoor season record books.
Senior Megan Jenkins, who fell shy of the school record at Chapel Hill, N.C., last weekend, came very close to Sarah Strickland’s first-place all-time record of 5:19.45 in the mile run. Jenkins ran a time of 5:19.97 for second place.
Freshman Christian Graham took second in the 200-meter run with a time of 22.70 and is sixth all-time with a time of 7.03 in the 60-meter run for a fifth place finish. Freshman Aaron Overton placed third in the high jump with a mark of 6’ 4.25” tying for seventh with Travis Taylor all-time. Overton also reset his personal-best in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.77 after breaking the indoor freshman record back in January; however, teammate Christopher Graham broke that record in the next heat.
SoCon Champion Jamel Brown finished third with a time of 8.41 in the finals of the 60 hurdles.
Brown is currently ranked third in the SoCon in the 60 hurdles. Charleston native Zach Johnson ran the third-best indoor 800-meter run in school history placing fourth at Clemson with a time of 1:54.41. Johnson is currently ranked second in the SoCon heading into this weekend’s SoCon Indoor Championships.
Quintin Turner placed fourth in the 35-lb. weight throw tossing a mark of 48’ 8.00”, moving into the fourth all-time slot in The Citadel’s record books and Corey Robinson finished fourth in the shot put with a mark of 37’ 10.75”.
James Harris jumped for a mark of 6’ 4.25” in the high jump, tying Overton and Taylor for seventh place all-time. Christopher finished fifth in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.76, advancing to the finals and ran for 10th all-time in the 60 with a time of 7.16 for 11th place.
Senior Matt Earls also finished fifth in the 35-lb. weight throw with a mark of 45’ 10.5” and Frank Dioguardi from Massapequa, N.Y. also posted a Citadel top 10 performance (eighth), placing sixth in the 800 with a time of 3:25.66.
Brian Baize, Christopher Morgan, Johnson and Brown ran as the 4x400-meter relay team, recording a season-best time of 3:25.66 for sixth place. The women’s 4x400 team, Brillyance Gilchrist-Poteat, Caitlyn Lees, Francesca McCrary and Erinn Carter broke the freshman school record by eight seconds running a time of 4:19.72.
Gilchrist-Poteat ran the second-fastest 60 hurdles time of 9.63 in school history and is sixth all-time for the 200-meter sprint with a time of 26.90. Not to be outdone, Carter ran the third-fastest time in school history in the 800 with a time of 2:25.48, finishing eighth.
Other Bulldog top 10 performances were Kasandra Polson’s mark of 33’ 8.5” in the shot put, moving her to seventh all-time. She is now ninth all-time in the 20lb. weight throw with a mark of 33’ 11.50”. Mia Trevino moved into eighth all-time with her 32’ 5.50” mark in the shot put.
Saturday’s final tune-up was good for the Bulldogs as they turned in some of the best performances this year.
“We are looking forward to this week’s Southern Conference Indoor Championships at Clemson,” said head coach Jody Huddleston. “We have worked very hard thus far and our times at Clemson improved significantly from the week before in North Carolina.”
The Citadel will head to the SoCon Indoor Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28 thru Sunday, March 1.
Davidson ? Tiger Invitational
CLEMSON, S.C. - In their final tune-up before heading to the Southern Conference Indoor Championships, the Davidson men’s track & field team turned in a strong performance at the Clemson Invitational this weekend, claiming a pair of second place finishes in the meet.
Senior captain Will Funderburg led the way on the field, taking runner-up honors in the shot put. Funderburg threw a top distance of 13.44 meters for his first podium finish of the year.
In the mile run, Peter Bruton brought home a second-place finish with a time of 4:21.47, which is the top mark on the team this season and puts him in the Davidson top-ten all-time performance list in the event. The Wildcats placed two other runners in the top eight, with Alex Hoyt’s time of 4:24.70 good for sixth place, and Blake Evitt tripping the tape in 4:27.48, taking eighth.
Other top performances for the ?Cats included J.J. Alston’s seventh-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 5.64 meters, and Greg Marcil also taking seventh in the 3,000-meter run, traversing the course in 8:55.73.
The Wildcats will now turn their attention to the SoCon Championships on Feb. 28-Mar. 1, which will be held on the same track in Clemson.