Two First-Place Finishes for Hyter Lead Eagles at Mountaineer Open
BOONE, N.C. - Sophomore Sara Curry recorded a time of 19:07.79 and broke a seven-year-old University record in the 5,000m Run. Her time is nearly 17 seconds less than the previous record set by Brittney Jett in 2004. Curry finished in second place in the event as the Georgia Southern Women's Track & Field team competed at the Mountaineer Open this weekend.
Senior Lynndsey Hyter captured two first-place finishes during the meet to lead the Eagles. She started the day with a 5.67m distance in the Long Jump event for her first win and followed up that effort with a first-place performance in the Triple Jump. Hyter's 12.23m in the Triple Jump currently ranks as the best in the Southern Conference.
Hyter also competed in the 55m Dash and was fifth in the finals. Her 7.27 time in the event was only .22 seconds behind first-place finisher Maleena Reid of UNC-Wilmington. Newcomer Stephanie Hicks shaved .16 seconds off her preliminary time in the 55m Hurdles for a third-place finish. In the 800m Run, Azura Robilliard recorded a top-10 time of 2:25.81.
With two top-five finishes in her jumps events, Millicent Brooks-Millender began her 2011 season placing third in the Triple Jump (11.56m) and fourth in the Long Jump (5.46m). Hicks finished seventh in the Long Jump with a distance of 5.31m.
In other field events, Natasha Creasy finished third in the shot put with a throw of 13.15 meters, her best distance of the young season. Amber Vaughn and Alex Cassagnol both cleared a height of 1.53m in the High Jump to tie for seventh place. Megan Fannon and Charnelle Wray posted top-15 finishes in the weight throw.
"We were a little rusty after coming off the break," said Eagles Head Coach Natalie Smith. "I'm glad we got this meet in to get the ladies' attention on where they have to improve so we can challenge ourselves more in practice. There is definitely room for improvement in our next meet."
Georgia Southern competes next at the JRP Combined Events Invitational January 28-29.
Weight Throw, Jumps Highlight Samford's Performance At Blue Raider Invitational
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford's Kyle Kirby set a new school record in the weight throw Saturday at the Blue Raider Invitational to get the 2011 track and field season started off on a strong note. The senior from Longwood, Fla., posted a toss of 60-06.75 to take second place in the event.
In the long jump, sophomore Brandon Bassett set a new school record with a leap of 22-10.00. Junior Donald Cooper (21-04.00) finished 11th followed by sophomore Bo Ackerson-Gilroy (21-01.50) in 13th and freshman Bob Elliot II (21-01.00) in 14th place. Elliot also placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 43-10.00.
The Bulldog women also joined in the record-breaking fun. Freshman Shelby Builta also set a school record in the weight throw, placing fifth with a toss of 41-01.50. Sophomore Chenelle Terry won the women's high jump with a school record leap of 5-10.00.
"I think we were good today but not great," Samford head coach Rod Tiffin said. "It shows us where we are and what we need to work on. It does let me know that we are going to be as good as we thought we can be, and it makes everyone anxious to get back to work."
Senior Chris Davis and junior Thomas Oliver joined Kirby in the weight throw. Davis placed sixth with personal best of 43-07.75 while Oliver finished eighth with a toss of 42-02.00.
Davis also placed third in the shot put with a toss of 44-04.25 while Bassett placed 10th with a mark of 36-05.50 and Cooper placed 11th with a mark of 34-02.00.
The Samford men also swept the pole vault as sophomore Ryan Cook and junior Michael Seaman led the way with a 15-06.00 mark. Freshman Owen Wagoner posted a vault of 15-00.00 while Senior Zac Epperson and Ackerson-Gilroy each vaulted a mark of 14-00.00.
Freshman Justin Emerson was the only Samford male to qualify for the 55-meter hurdle finals. He ran a 6.77 to finish sixth in the event. Emerson also finished 17th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.08. Redshirt junior Alex Richter led the way for the Bulldog men with a ninth place finish, running a time of 22.64. Freshman Connor McGee placed 34th with a time of 24.17 while sophomore Brad Bostic finished 36th with a time of 24.38.
Freshman Jonathan Bush finished 14th in the 400 meters with a time of 54.27.
Senior Scott Cope won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.46. Freshman John Gayle followed in fourth place with a time of 1:55.63. Freshman Layton Dorsett won the men's mile with a time of 4:17.50 followed by fellow freshman Henry Stevens-Carty (4:22.13) in third and sophomore Ramsey White (4:29.50) in ninth place.
Senior Blaise Carie took third place in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:39.86 while freshman James Graham finished fifth with a time of 9:12.48.
Juniors Cavan Corcoran and Cooper qualified for the finals of the 55-meter hurdles. Corcoran finished fourth in the finals with a time of 7.77 while Cooper finished fifth with a time of 7.81.
On the women's side, freshman Madeline Cross finished 13th in the 55-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 7.57 and in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.40. Freshman Jessica Watson also placed 24th in the 200 meters with a time of 27.50.
Sophomore Tatum Moffett led the way for the Bulldog women in the 400 meters with a fifth place finish and a time of 1:00.23. Sophomore Leslie Graf followed in 11th place with a time of 1:02.61 while sophomore Ashley Bridenbaugh came in 15th (1:05.59) and freshman Danielle Blanco finished 18th (1:06.40).
In the one mile run, freshman Rachel Sims placed ninth with a time of 5:31.94. Samford swept the podium in the 3000 meters as sophomore Lauren D'Alessio finished first with a time of 10:05.01. Juniors Jillian Klassen and Deanna Zidar followed in second and third with personal best times of 10:19.60 and 10:21.85, respectively. Freshman Brooke Smith finished seventh with a time of 11:29.58.
Freshman Ashley Cope and senior Morgan Tyler placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdle finals. Cope ran 8.49, improving her preliminary time of 8.58. Tyler ran 8.78 in the finals after placing fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 8.53. Tyler also posted a mark of 38-10.75 to take third place in the triple jump.
Freshman Macy Conger (8.71) and sophomore Julie McDonald (8.77) finished eighth and ninth in the preliminary round of the 55-meter hurdles. Conger also placed seventh in the long jump with a leap of 16-08.50 while sophomore Emily Allen took ninth with a mark of 16-02.00.
Sophomore Laura Bedsole and Cope took first and second in the pole vault. Bedsole posted a mark of 11-06.00 while Cope jumped 11-00.00. Senior Mary Barron and freshman Rachel Gregory finished fifth and sixth, both with a mark of 9-06.00.
The Samford women placed fourth in the 4x440-meter relay with a time of 4:10.01. The Samford men's "B" team placed fifth with a time of 3:27.11 while their "A" team finished sixth with a time of 3:28.53.
Samford will be back in action next Friday and Saturday at the JRF Combined Events/Invitational hosted by Clemson University.
Elon Track and Field Earns Four Titles at State Farm Games
ELON, N.C. - The Elon track and field team wrapped up competition on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the 2011 State Farm Games by taking home four titles and a new school record in the long jump.
The Phoenix won three of its four titles on the day in the field events, with top finishes in the high jump, triple jump and shot put. Senior Veronica Day earned her second triple jump title of the year with a leap of 11.86m. In the high jump, Jordan Lee took the top spot with a jump of 1.61m. Freshman Charlise Morgan won the shot put with a throw of 12.63m, while senior Justine Robertson took second after a heave of 12.19m.
Day also earned second in the long jump with a jump of 5.79m, breaking her previous school record of 5.78m. Senior Lauren Hawkesworth took third place in the long jump behind Day. Junior Alyssa Girvin rounded out the field events by finishing third in the weight throw after a toss of 14.42m.
Sophomore Emily Tryon and junior Courtney Whalen finished first and second in the 800-meter run coming in at 2:24.77 and 2:25.06, respectively. Tryon also took the third spot in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:13.23. In the 3,000-meter run, junior Allyson Costa and sophomore Christine Pacewicz finished second and third after crossing the finish line at 10:53.42 and 10:57.38.
In the 400-meter dash, junior Amy Salek earned a second-place finish with a time of 57.71. Senior Veronica Day and junior Dana Cataldo took second and third in the 60-meter dash with times of 7.99 and 8.01, respectively. Elon recorded another third-place finish in the 200-meter dash with Kaleigh Birks coming in at 26.18.
The 4x400-meter relay team, comprised of senior Sarah Skogen, freshman Jackie Madden, junior Lauren Wilmer and Birks, took second with a time of 4:03.76.
The track and field team will continue the indoor season at the Carolina Classic next Saturday, Jan. 29.