More College of Charleston Records Fall at Carolina Invitational
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman Dena O'Brien continued the stellar start to her collegiate career as she bettered her own mile record and set a new school record in the 3,000-meter run Saturday at the Dick Taylor UNC Invitational.
O'Brien, running the 3,000 for the first time in her collegiate career crossed the finish line in 9:46.83, shattering the previous CofC record of 10:11.10 set by Kyle Palmquist at the 2004 Southern Conference Championships. O'Brien was second in the race.
In the mile nobody finished in front of O'Brien, as she ran 4:59.28, edging out her previous school record of 4:59.63, set at the Mountaineer Open earlier this year. O'Brien has now established four CofC records combined with cross country and track.
Junior Emily Smith finished second in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 7 inches. Senior Isabel Boersma bettered her personal best in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.26 seconds.
Junior Kristen Wolfe also had a solid race in the mile as she finished in ninth-place, running 5:16.60. Fellow junior Alyssa D'Orazio crossed the finish line fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:19.48.
The Cougars will take next weekend off from competition before traveling to Clemson, S.C. for the Southern Conference Championships Feb. 26-27.
Catamounts Set Five Personal-Bests and Four Season-Bests as the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. Concluded Saturday.
CLEMSON, S.C. - Sophomore Brandon Hairston picked up his first collegiate victory in the 200-meter dash as the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. concluded Saturday. The Walkertown, N.C. native finished the race in 22.12. All told, five personal bests were achieved and four season bests were recorded over the weekend in Clemson.
In the mile run, sophomore Morgan Turner logged her career best with a time of 5:05.23, putting her in sixth place. Her previous best was 5:07.07. Senior Jordan Gaddy finished just behind the sophomore with a time of 5:07.38. That time was a season best and just off of her career best of 5:07.15.
The Catamounts also had a strong showing in the field events. Senior pole vaulter Kassie McKie finished third on the day with a vault of 3.45m. The third place finish was her best finish of the season. Ashley Wala placed eighth in the vault, clearing the bar successfully at 3.15m. On the men's side, Wayne Parker and Keith Leonard had record setting days. Freshman Keith Leonard placed sixth, but set a personal best of 4.30m. Wayne Parker tied his personal best of 4.45m to finish fourth.
The records continued to roll in for the Catamounts in the weight throw event. Senior Ryan Pless had a career long throw of 16.26m. Jamie Van Pelt set a personal record with a throw of 16.11m. Zakiyyah Stewart picked up a top five finish on the women's side in the weight throw with a throw of 15.49m.
Reigning SoCon Athlete of the Month Jane't Carothers continued her stellar season picking up her sixth top five finish of the season finishing second in the invitational section of the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.07. Carothers has finished in the front five of every race this season and in every 400m for the past two years.
Junior Nicole Okolo finished just behind the top jumper in the triple jump placing second in the event. Her leap of 11.58m is a season best.
Sophomore Cordell Livingston had a solid weekend for the Catamounts. The High Point, N.C. native picked up top five honors in the 60-meter hurdles and the triple jump. In the hurdles, Livingston finished fifth with a time of 8.10. In the triple jump, the sophomore set a season best with a leap of 14.01m.
Next weekend the Catamounts will continue preparing for the Southern Conference Indoor Championships-which takes place in two weeks-by participating in the ASU Pre-Conference Meet in Boone, N.C. and the Tiger Tune-Up back in Clemson, S.C.
Song Wins 400M and Breaks Davidson 60M Record at UNC Invitational
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Senior JinHan Song broke the Davidson men's track and field 60-meter dash record in 7.05 seconds and won the 400-meter dash, while senior Charlie Schmitt led a 1-2 Wildcats finish in the 3000-meter run Saturday at the Dick Taylor UNC Invitational on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Song bested the mark of 7.13 seconds set by Kwame Som-Pimpong at George Mason. His 400-meter winning time of 50.46 seconds matched the second-best performance in Davidson history.
Schmitt and sophomore Demetrios Pagonis finished 1-2 in the 3000-meter run in 8:28.73 and 8:33.85, respectively. Both times were personal records and rank among the top-10 best 3000m performances in school history. Vincent Weir also placed in the top five at 8:40.68, placing him on the Davidson top-10 performers list in the event.
Freshman Andrew Lantz placed third in the 800-meter run with the third-best Wildcats performance ever in 1:55.91.
Will Mitchell, Stephen Powell and Taylor Martin led the Wildcats in the 600-meter run with a trio of school all-time top-10 times. Powell took fourth in 1:26.26, Powell took sixth in 1:26.63 and Martin tookninth in 1:27.07.
The top Davidson 4x400-meter relay team placed second in 3:31.09.
With the regular season complete, the Wildcats will turn their attention to the 2011 Indoor SoCon Championships, opening on Saturday, February 26 in Clemson, S.C. Davidson begins the outdoor season at the Charlotte 49er Classic on March 18.
Georgia Southern's Curry and Hyter Make Their Marks
CLEMSON, S.C. - Sophomore Sara Curry broke the University mark in the 3,000 meter Run and senior Lynndsey Hyter won the elite section of the Long Jump as the Georgia Southern Track and Field team competed at the Tiger Paw Invitational this weekend. Curry's time of 10:43.74 bested the four-year-old mark of 10:44.02 in the 3,000, owned previously by Brittney Jett.
Curry also made her mark in the Mile Run with a season-best time of 5:19.22, good for fourth on Georgia Southern's top-five list.
Hyter cleared 6.04 meters in the Long Jump, her career best at Georgia Southern and third-best distance in Eagle history, to claim the win in the elite section. Her previous best was 5.99 meters, set during the 2009 season.
"We are finally starting to put some pieces together and I am pleased with the results," said Eagles Head Coach Natalie Smith. "Sara set the record in the 3,000 in her first time running in that event. Lynndsey and Millie both had personal-best marks in the Long Jump and Alex made improvements in the High Jump and she will be ranked in the top-five of our all-time list.
"We still have some work to do, but I believe that week-by-week, more of our ladies are getting on board," Smith said. "Our freshman and sophomore classes are really coming up with standout performances."
Freshmen Stephanie Hicks and Kwajelin Holsendolph both finished in the top 20 of the 60 meter Hurdles. Hicks ran a time of 8.93 in the preliminaries for the best time of the season. Holsendolph posted a 8.96 in the finals, competing for the first time in this event. Their times will place them second and third in the Southern Conference rankings.
In her first race as an Eagle, freshman Ray Toomer placed sixth overall in the 500 meter Dash event with a time of 1:20.67. Ebony Carter had a season-best time of 26.09 in the 200 meter Dash for a top-20 finish and had one of the top-three times of the season at 7.93 in the 60 meter Dash. Junior Millicent Brooks-Millender (Douglasville, Ga.), with a 5.60 meter distance in the Long Jump, recorded her personal best in the event and earned a sixth-place finish.
The Eagles return to the Clemson Indoor Track and Field Complex for the Tiger Tuneup next Saturday, February 19th. The Southern Conference Championships will be held at the same facility Saturday-Sunday, February 26th-27th.
Furman's Gilmer, Callahan Lead Paladins in Final Day of Tiger Paw Invitational
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Junior Lee Gilmer placed fifth with a personal-best time of 1:53.00 in the 800m, and senior Jenna Callahan took sixth in the 800m with a personal-best time of 2:19.33 to lead the Furman track and field teams Saturday in the final day of competition at the Tiger Paw Invitational at the Indoor Track Complex in Clemson, S.C.
Sophomore Wilkerson Given took 21st in the 800m with a time of 1:59.02, while freshman James Perez placed 28th in the event at 2:01.37. Rookie Tyler Greathouse posted a time of 9:17.34 for 29th in the 3,000m, and fellow freshman Giorgio Montenegro placed 45th in the 200m with a time of 25.14.
Sophomore Raul Rodriquez was 30th with a personal-best time of 53.09 in the 400m, and junior Michael Kelly took 40th in the event after recording a time of 55.75.
For the Paladin women's team, sophomore Haley Gray placed 23rd in the 3,000m with a personal-best time of 10:49.67, followed by freshman Julia Means in 24th place at 10:52.15. Junior Rebecca Shelton was 32nd in the event with a time of 11:04.02.
Junior Erin McChristian was 38th with a time of 1:04.84 in the 400m, and senior Shannon Cantwell placed 63rd in the 800m with a time of 2:36.79. The Paladin 4x400m relay team of sophomore Misha Holmes, junior Erin McChristian, freshman Alexa Wilton, and Callahan placed 17th after notching a time of 4:07.01.
Furman will compete in the Tiger Tune Up next Saturday in Clemson, S.C.