Appalachian State - Tony Waldrop Tar Heel Invite
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Members of Appalachian State women's track and field were in action at the Tony Waldrop Tar Heel Invite in on the campus of North Carolina Saturday. The Tar Heel Invite serves as a chance for athletes to improve upon their season-best times in hopes of landing a spot in the NCAA Regionals May 27 in Greensboro.
Two Mountaineer freshman led the way for the Apps Saturday, setting personal-best marks as the 2010 outdoor season winds down.
Gayshawna Watkins was the top individual finsher for the Mountaineers Saturday, establishing a new personal-best mark of 45-8 en route to a second-place finish. Classmate Deanne Tiplady added a third-place finish in the javelin with a toss of 116-10.
Freshman Trinity Foreman also had a strong showing Saturday, placing fourth in the 1500m run with a personal-best time of 4:38.21.
Junior Rebecca Hazeltine posted a fourth-place finish in the high jump after clearing a height of 5-5, and senior Ashley Beale added a fourth-place finish as well in the pole vault with a height of 11-1.75.
Freshman Shenita Martin added a seventh-place finish in the 400m hurdles with a time of 64.20.
Appalachian State women's track and field will be back in action next weekend at the Georgia Tech Qualifier in Atlanta, with one last chance to earn a spot in the NCAA Regionals.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Members of Appalachian State men's track and field were in action at the Tony Waldrop Tar Heel Invite in on the campus of North Carolina Saturday. The Tar Heel Invite serves as a chance for athletes to improve upon their season-best times in hopes of landing a spot in the NCAA Regionals May 27 in Greensboro.
Sophomore Darius Purcell was the top individual finisher for the Mountaineers Saturday. The Fayetteville, N.C. native tied a season best mark of 6-10.75 en route to a second-place finish in the high jump.
Freshman Alex Taylor also had a strong showing in Chapel Hill, finishing third in the 1500m run with a personal-best time of 3:51.85. Taylor's effort also moved him into eighth place in ASU history in the 1500m. Senior Brandon Hudgins also added a ninth-place finish in the 1500m with a time of 3:55.27, and an eighth-place finish in the 800m with a time of 1:55.92.
In the 100m dash, sophomore Dennis Moore was the top Mountaineer finisher with a time of 10.60, which placed seventh overall and tied a season-best mark. Freshman Landon Powell finished just behind in eighth with a 10.63, and classmate Justin Thomas placed 12th with a 10.70.
Malcolm Styers had a strong showing in the throwing events for the Apps Saturday, placing third in the shot put with a toss of 51-11.75 and sixth in the discus with a 148-3 effort. Sophomore Jared Stalling finished just ahead of Styers in the discus, earning fifth place with a throw of 154-10.
Senior John Svoboda, the reigning SoCon Track Athlete of the Month, kicked in a fourth-place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 48.31, and freshman Trey Jones added a ninth-place finish in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.28.
Appalachian State men's track and field will be back in action next weekend at the Georgia Tech Qualifier in Atlanta, with one last chance to earn a spot in the NCAA Regionals.
College of Charleston - Orange and Purple Meet
CLEMSON, S.C. - Three members of College of Charleston's track & field team competed at Clemson's Orange and Purple Meet on Saturday.
The student-athletes continue to compete in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championship East Region Preliminary Round on May 27-29 in Greensboro, N.C.
After a preliminary jump of 38'11" in the triple jump, freshman Jelain McArthur (Laurens, S.C./Laurens District) set a new school record in the finals. The Southern Conference Freshman of the Year leapt a distance of 40'¾" to place second in the event. She surpassed her old record by more than half a foot.
McArthur also competed in the long jump where her distance of 18'¼" earned her a fifth-place finish.
Sophomore Emily Smith (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) cleared a height of 5'8½" to tie her performance at the NCAA Regionals last year. Her jump earned her runner-up status at the meet.
Junior Mary Zolga (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) participated in the 400-meter hurdles where she finished third with a time of 1:05.16. Zolga currently holds the school record in the hurdles.
Select members of the team will travel to Georgia Tech next weekend for the Last Chance Meet. Each athlete is attempting to finish in the top 48 on the East Coast to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.
Furman - Orange and Purple Meet
CLEMSON, S.C. - Furman sophomore Lee Gilmer placed fifth and set a personal record with a time of 1:51.33 in the 800m this weekend at the Orange and Purple Track & Field Meet in Clemson, S.C. Gilmer was the Paladins' lone competitor in the meet.
Several members of the Furman track and field team will compete at the Georgia Tech Invitational next weekend in Atlanta, Ga.
Elon - Duke Twilight
DURHAM, N.C. - Elon field athlete Veronica Day was crowned the champion in both the long jump and triple jump on the final day of the Duke Twilight on Sunday.
Day bested the second-place finisher by over six inches after posting a distance of 19-2 ½ in the long jump. She was only an inch shy of tying her current school record.
In the triple jump, the junior from Vienna, Va., took home the title after leaping to a distance of 39-6 ½, beating the field by an inch-and-a-half. She was two inches short of her personal best and school record.
Day was the only Phoenix competitor at the Duke Twilight.
UNC Greensboro - Duke Twilight
DURHAM, N.C. - Michelle Chewens, Tiffany Garber and Ryan Solomon all set new personal-best times to lead UNC Greensboro on Sunday evening at the Duke Twilight.
Garber ran an 18:29.91 in the 5,000 meters to set a new personal-best in that event by almost three seconds. That time was also good enough for the third-best time in school history.
Chewens also had a nice day for the women's team as she set a new personal-best in the 1,500 meters by six seconds with her time of 4:56.36.
On the men's side, Ryan Solomon shattered his previous-best time in the 5,000 meters. In the final event of the evening, he ran a 16:30.28 in the event, which set a new personal-best for him by 36 seconds.
UNCG will return to the track next weekend as the Spartans compete in a pair of meets. They will run at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday before competing at the Carolina Qualifier in the season finale.
AGATE
Men's results:
800m: 15. TJ Wyatt, 1:56.92; 16. Lamar Watkins, 1:57.14; 20. Taylor Hurst, 1:58.20
1500m: 23. Joey Thompson, 4:18.28
5000m: 38. Ryan Solomon, 16:30.28
Women's results:
800m: 10. Michelle Chewens, 2:20.11
1500m: 24. Michelle Chewens, 4:56.36
5000m: 9. Tiffany Garber, 18:29.91
Samford - Georgia Track & Field Invitational
ATHENS, Ga. - Four members of the Samford track and field team competed in the Georgia Track and Field Invitational Saturday. No one from the small group representing Samford qualified for the NCAA First Round Saturday, but they will have another chance next weekend at the Georgia Tech Invitational. One Bulldog did post a personal best while all four competitors landed in the top 10 of their respective events.
In the track events, Julie McDonald posted a personal best of 14.88 to take seventh place in the 100-meter hurdles while also running 12.87 in the 100-meter dash to come in 19th place. Morgan Tyler grabbed fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.74.
In the field events, Chenelle Terry placed sixth in the high jump with a mark of 5-05.75 while Kyle Kirby took 10th place in the men's hammer throw with a toss of 172-11.