The Citadel women completed their opening weekend
Newport News, Va. – The Citadel Women's Track and Field team finished out a successful season-opening weekend as they snagged their third relay school record at the Captains Invitational in the 4x400m race on the indoor track at the Freeman Center on the campus of Christopher Newport University.
The young relay team of junior Micah Wessinger (60.7 split), sophomore Danielle McKee (61.5) and freshmen Alexandra Moss (61.9) and Tanisha Bethel (58.9) put forth a solid effort as they turned out a record-setting performance in the 4x400m race with a time of 4:03.26. The mark moves the young squad to the top of The Citadel's All-Time list in the event by just .26 seconds (4:03.52).
The freshmen tandem of Moss and Bethel continued their stellar collegiate-opener on Saturday as they both found their names etched in Citadel history by running record-setting times in the 200m event. Moss ran a mark of 27.17s to place her ninth all-time, while teammate Bethel cruised into sixth place all-time with a mark of 26.94s.
Wessinger continued her successes on day-two as well, taking the crown in the 600m run with a time of 1:38.18, while McKee moved into second place all-time in the 1,000m event with a mark of 3:09.35.
In the field events, sophomore Nicole Levermann had a personal-best throw in the shot put, recording a heave of 34"8.25'. Teammate Andriana Love threw 38"8.25' in the same event to move into third place all-time for The Citadel.
Sophomores Christina Shonbeck and Vanessa Hope also had notable performances on the weekend. Hope placed 22nd in the 400m race with a time of 64.74, while Shonbeck captured fifth place in the 3,000m distance event with an impressive mark of 11:17.88.
The Bulldog women will have next weekend off, while the men's team will travel to Annapolis, Md., on Saturday, Jan. 28 to open up action at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational on the campus of the United States Naval Academy.
Elon women record top performances at Christopher Newport University Captain’s Invitational
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Elon University women’s track and field team concluded action today at the Christopher Newport University Captain’s Invitational at the Freeman Center in Newport News, Va., with several top performances.
Elon dominated the one-mile run, placing four in the top-10, including the top three spots. Allyson Oram took first at 5:12.28, followed by Haylee Dawe (5:16.14) in second and Morgan Denecke (5:18.03) in third. Oram’s mile time of 5:12.28 ranks fourth all-time in program history. Christine Pacewicz clocked in at 5:26.47 in seventh, while Erin MacBeth placed 10th with a time of 5:39.97.
The Phoenix distance runners also shined in the 1,000-meter event, taking four spots in the top seven. Oram placed third overall with a time of 3:10.35, while McDavid finished just behind in fourth at 3:11.82. Denecke placed fifth with a time of 3:13.89, while Emily Tryon and Dawe finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
Elon’s Kaitlin Stober took second in the 3,000-meter event with a time of 10:57.68, finishing just behind Shenandoah’s Amy Smith, who clocked in at 10:51.50.
Amy Salek nearly won the 400-meter dash title, but finished runner-up with a time of 56:65 to Nicole Dumpson’s time of 56:43. Bria Bell took third place in the 400-meter with a time of 58:60. Bell and Salek also placed seventh and ninth, respectively, in the 200-meter event.
In the 600-meter event, the Phoenix placed two runners in the top-nine. Julie Hart clocked in at 1:42.49, good for fifth, while Ellie Taff took ninth with a time of 1:45.68.
The Phoenix returns to action on Jan. 27-28 for the UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill.
Georgia Southern tallies five top-ten finishes at the Florida Gators Invitational
GAINESVILLE, Fl- Georgia Southern Track and Field put forth a strong effort in its visit to the Florida Gators Invitational on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles were anchored by top-ten finishes by Sara Curry, Jasmine Billings, Stephanie Hicks, Sarah Hall, and Alexis Jacobs.
Sara Curry placed tenth in the mile (5:22.01), Billings finished eighth in the 55 meter hurdles (8.14), and Hicks tied for eighth in the high jump (1.54). Hall and Jacobs took fourth (13.09m/42”11.50) and seventh (12.52m/41”01.00), respectively.
GSU held strong, and finished the meet with multiple top-20 finishes. Hall and Charnelle Wray took eleventh and 12th in the weight throw while Hicks and Billings grabbed eleventh and 17th in the 55 meter hurdles with scores of 8.18 and 8.81.
Curry also took 13th in the 3000 meter (10:45.60) followed by Megan Sullivan who took 16th (10:57.09). Rounding out the Eagles’ top-20 finishes were Asea Mayfield who finished 13th in the 800 meter (2:20.71), Kimberly Thomas who placed 20th in the 200 meter (26.36) and 13th in 400 meter (58.51) followed by Cherrelle King who took 20th in the 400 meter with a time of 59.64.
The Eagles 4x400 meter relay teams also took eighth and ninth with scores of 4:03.06 and 4:04.07.
GSU travels to Birmingham next, for a two-day multi-team meet on Wednesday and Thursday.
UNCG’s Cronley came within two seconds of setting new school record
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Ginny Cronley came within two seconds of setting a new school record in the 5,000 meters as UNCG completed its stay at the Hokie Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Cronley's finished in second place in the 5,000 meter race in a time of 18:19.04. Her time was less than two seconds off the school record set six years ago by Heidi Pinkerton and set a new personal-best time by 13 seconds.
Teammate Chelsea Willette finished in sixth place in the 5,000 meters she shattered her previous personal best by 1:18.
In the 800 meters, Shannon Hall came won her heat and came in ninth place overall in a time of 2:19.52 to set a new personal-best by four seconds.
Emily Vasquez also had a nice afternoon as her time of 3:10.44 in the 1,000 meters broke her previous personal-best time by 21 seconds.
On the men's side, Brian Carrington came in seventh place in the 5,000 meters. His time of 15:34.74 set a new personal-best and teammate Dylan Belles was right behind him as he came in eighth place after running a 15:38.53.
The Spartans will travel to the UNC Invitational on Friday.
Samford breaks five more school records
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The 2012 Samford track team is very keen on re-writing the Samford record books, as five more school records fell at this weekend's Auburn Invitational. Kyle Kirby, Emily Allen, Tyler Kemp, Michael Seaman and Jonathan Bush all topped their respective event's all-time marks.
Kemp and Bush find themselves on the top of the high jump and 400-meter dash lists, respectively, for the first time in their Samford careers. Kemp, a sophomore from Brentwood, Tenn., finished fifth in Saturday's high jump setting the new school record at 6-8.25 (2.04m) on his second attempt. Bush, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., was the lone Bulldog in the running events to set a school record Saturday and came through with a 13th-place finish of 49.39. Out of the four records broken Saturday, the 400-meter dash was the longest-standing as the former mark of 49.91 was set by Michael Smith in 2007.
Kirby, Allen and Seaman were already at the top of their event's performance lists, but they put more distance between themselves and second place with impressive performances this weekend. Kirby only finished one-half of an inch behind first place in this weekend's weight throw, but his mark of 64-7 (19.68m) beats his old record by nearly two feet and should move the Longwood, Fla., senior into the top 20 nationally.
Allen finished 15th in the women's weight throw, setting the Samford record at 51-3 (15.62m). This improves on her previous record of 49-10.5 (12.29m), which was set at the Birmingham Ice Breaker in December. The Brentwood, Tenn., sophomore also earned a new PR in the women's triple jump, finishing 12th (37-0.25, 11.28m).
Seaman improved his national standing and continues to move the Samford pole vault record higher, winning Saturday's vault with an impressive height of 17-8.5 (5.40m). Seaman already ranks in the top ten nationally and his mark from this weekend could put him in the top five. The Bardstown, Ky., senior did make an attempt at the NCAA Automatic Qualifying height of 18-0.5 (5.50m) but failed to clear it.
Seaman's counterpart in the women's pole vault, Claire Goodson, tied her school record from last week, finishing fourth Saturday with a height of 12-11.5 (3.95m). After making an impressive collegiate debut in the 800 meters last week, Marie Demedicis had an equally impressive showing this weekend in the 400-meter dash, placing 19th with a time of 57.68, which ranks second all-time at Samford. Holly Benson improved on her PR in the women's mile, finishing 10th in 4:54.59, less than one second behind Lauren D’Alessio’s second-place all-time mark of 4:54.25 from last season.
Anna Laura Irvine, who formerly ranked 10th all-time in the 800 meters at Samford, improved on her collegiate best mark Saturday, finishing sixth in 2:15.71 which moves her to sixth place in the Samford record books. Layton Dorsett finished 11th in the men's 800 meters in 1:55.90, putting him 8th on the all-time list for the Bulldogs. Henry Stevens-Carty finished just behind Dorsett, placing 14th in 1:56.60. Julie McDonald continues to improve on her personal best in the 60-meter hurdles, failing to qualify for the finals but still running an impressive 8.83.
Bob Elliot II was among Samford's other top-ten finishers Saturday, as he placed seventh in the men's triple jump (45-8, 13.92m). Cavan Corcoran led the Bulldogs in the 60-meter hurdles, just missing the finals with a 10th-place finish of 8.20 in the prelims.
Samford will co-host a mid-week meet next week, along with Birmingham Southern and UAB, as the Samford/UAB/BSC-Multi is set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 25-26. Events Wednesday are set to start at 2 p.m. and Thursday at 9 a.m.
Chattanooga opens indoor season with strong outing
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. --- Three University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Running Mocs earned wins in the Indoor Track team's season opener Saturday at the Blue Raider Invitational hosted by Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center.
Senior Tata Gietema, competing in her final collegiate season, won the women's 3000 meter with a time of 10:24.56 followed by teammate junior Kathryn Stuart with a time of 10:26.74, just missing a PR.
In the men's 3000 meter, sophomore Nathan Wanuch took first in the event with a time of 8:37.43, besting his PR by almost two seconds. Junior Mark Cole was third in the event with a time of 8:51.13, also a PR.
In the men's mile Run, sophomore Lucas Cotter recorded a PR winning the race in a time of 4:14.33 and senior Emmanuel Kirwa finished fourth overall with a time of 4:24.26.
Sophomore Amanda Sumner placed second in the women's Mile Run with a time of 5:05.89. In the men's 800 meter run, junior Joshue Vasquez placed fourth with a time of 1:57.49 and sophomore Drew Austell placed eighth with a time of 2:00.67.
The Mocs return to action next weekend at the prestigious Rod McCravy Memorial hosted by the University of Kentucky.