College of Charleston - Georgia Tech Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - Two jumpers and a middle-distance runner represented College of Charleston at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Freshman Jelain McArthur (Laurens, S.C./Laurens District) began and ended the meet for the Cougars, participating in the 100-meter hurdles and triple jump. She placed 21st in the preliminary hurdles with a time of 14.15 while running into a strong headwind. She missed qualifying for the finals for just the second time all year.
"This is some of the best competition on the East Coast," head coach Amy Seago said. "Jelain had a great start and won her heat but just had a headwind which didn't help things."
McArthur also earned a 21st-place finish in the triple jump on Saturday with a distance of 39'1¾". She finishes her rookie season as the school recordholder in the 100-meter hurdles, long and triple jumps.
Sophomore Kirsten Wolfe (Midlothian, Va./James River) finished her season on Friday in the steeplechase. She finished the 3,000-meter race in 11:20.41 to come in 13th place.
Sophomore Emily Smith (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) tied for 12th place in the high jump, clearing 5'7".
Smith is the sole Charleston athlete with a chance to compete in the NCAA Preliminary East Region Round. The top 48 athletes in each event will compete with the top 12 advancing to the NCAA Championships. Smith is currently 42nd on the East Coast and will find out if she has been chosen to compete in Greensboro, N.C. on May 28-29 on Monday evening.
Furman - Georgia Tech Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - Junior Charlie McGoogan placed 12th with a time of 15:31.64 in the 5,000m to lead four individuals from the Furman track and field team at the Georgia Tech Invitational this weekend in Atlanta, Ga. Sophomore Jay Miller finished 19th in the event after recording a time of 16:04.36, while sophomore Lee Gilmer placed 20th in the 1500m with a personal best time of 3:47.81.
Junior Monique Ositelu was on the only member of the Furman women's team that competed at the meet. In the 800m, she posted a season-best time of 2:14.80, winning her heat and placing 33rd overall.
Samford - Georgia Tech Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Samford University track and field team solidified its field of five NCAA qualifiers Saturday as it rounded out competition at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Qualifiers must be ranked in the top 48 of the East or West Division to move on to the NCAA First Round in Greensboro, N.C., May 27-29.
Michael Seaman highlighted the action for the Bulldogs as he won the pole vault with a school-record mark of 17-00.25. The mark beat fellow Bulldog Patrick Wells' previous record set at the SoCon Championships two weeks ago by a foot and a half.
With that height, Seaman jumped from 29th place in the East division standing to 20th place. Wells currently ranks 26th in the East Division, and the duo will move on to the NCAA First Round at the end of May.
Also in the field events at the Georgia Tech Invitational, Ryan Cook tied for fourth place in the pole vault with a height of 15-01.00. Kyle Kirby just missed qualifying as he placed 17th in the hammer throw with a toss of 177-05.
Mary Barron tied for eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 11-01.75 while Donald Cooper tied for 11th in the high jump with a height of 6-06.75.
Thomas Oliver took ninth in the javelin with a toss of 196-04. He has already qualified for the NCAA First Round with a mark of 207-10 in the javelin to rank him 47th in the East Division standings. Ryland Robbins placed 24th in the event with a toss of 268-06.
Hillary Neal is the only female who qualified for Samford. She ranks 25th in the east in the steeplechase with her SoCon Championship-winning time of 10:42.61. She also has qualified in the 800 meters with her time of 2:09.30 posted at the Ole Miss Invitational. She ranks 48th in the standings in the event.
Also in the running events, Morgan Tyler placed 20th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.60 while Ashley Bridenbaugh placed 32nd with a personal best of 1:05.83. Blaise Carie also took fourth in the steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:10.76.
Cameron Bean is the final qualifier for Samford. He qualified for the steeplechase with his school record time of 9:01.32 which he posted at the Pepsi Florida Relays. The mark currently ranks him 35th in the east.
Western Carolina - Georgia Tech Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - Senior Matt Evans set the school record in the javelin and helped lead the Catamounts as the WCU men and women's Track & Field teams concluded their regular season this weekend at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
Evans' toss of 66.80 meters (222' 2") broke his previous school record of 218 feet and nine inches set at the Florida Relays in 2008. The mark was good enough for a third place podium finish at the Georgia Tech Invitational. The Old Fort, N.C., native currently ranks 18th in the javelin and his height of 2.16 meters (seven feet and one inch) is tied for 11th in the East Region. It is highly probable that Evans will compete in the NCAA First Round in Greensboro, N.C., on May 27-29.
Javelin teammate Darron Dotson also reached a top-ten standing with his toss of 60.02 meters (196' 11") which placed him eighth in the event.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team (Shalyn McMichael, Felisha Garren, Emma Bowers and Felicia Paulding) set a season-best time with a run of 3:41.61.
Cale McDaniel continued his strong season as he tossed the hammer for 55.26 meters (181' 3") to place 16th overall. Alex Dollard rounded out the field events as he earned a mark of 4.75 meters (15' 7") in the men's long jump.
Senior Dominique Young finished a stout Catamount career with two top-20 marks in the sprints events. Young earned 15th in the 200-meter dash with his time of 21.40 seconds, he placed 16th in the 100-meter with a time of 10.62 seconds.
All-Conference selection Nicole Okolo ran the women's 100-meter hurdles in a time of 13.98 seconds to garner 18th in the event.
Sherelle Froneberger placed 23rd in the 200-meter dash with her run of 24.55 seconds.
In the distance events, Drew Tucker paced the 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.21, while Hannah Bowers finished the event in 2:19.15 for the women. Garrett West also ran the 800-meter in a time of 1:52.88.
Stephen Hammond ran the men's 1,500-meter run in a time of 3:55.29.
The participants for the NCAA East Region First Round will be announced at a later date. The meet is scheduled for May 27-29 in Greensboro, N.C. Information will be posted online at CatamountSports.com when it becomes available.