Catamounts Tally Seven Wins at Tiger Challenge

Sophomore Alisha Bradshaw notched a win in the shot put and a second place finish in the weight throw Western Carolina opened up 2013 with seven wins in the Tiger Challenge on the campus of Clemson University Friday afternoon, pickings up five victories on the track and two in the field events.

The Catamounts began the meet with a win on the track as the women’s Distance Medley Relay team consisting of Kaylan Lance, Lena Elliott, Jocelyn Keen and Mara Smith defeated conference rival College of Charleston. WCU completed the event three seconds of the second place Cougars.

The men’s DMR team of Nolan Clark, Kaleel Barton, Jamie Bigby and Travis Alfaro followed up the women’s victory with one of their own, as the men’s team came across the line in 10:28.79.

Abraham Faison – who led the Catamounts a season ago in the 60m hurdles – finished third in the event behind two runners from Clemson with a time of 8.40. That time is just off his 2012 time of 8.33. Teammates Tyler Bentley and Marquis Bailey also made it to the finals of the event, with Bentley placing fifth (8.53) followed by Bailey in sixth (8.71).

Senior Jamie Van Pelt picked up the win in the weight throw, tossing a 17.25m – nearly two meters ahead of the second place finisher. Western Carolina took third, fourth and fifth as well, with Joe Korac (15.08m), Andy Benesh (14.71m) and Jonathan Newton (13.46m) rounding out the top five for the Catamounts.

Continuing the Catamounts’ success in the throw was sophomore Alisha Bradshaw who tallied her first win of the season with a 12.76m top throw in the shot put. Bradshaw also earned second place in the weight throw, throwing 15.63m.

Western Carolina won both 3000m runs with Aleshia Reese victorious in the women’s run, crossing the stripe in 10:45.13. The win for Reese was her first. In arguably one of the most exciting races of the day, Josey Weaver edged out Clemson’s Marty Maloney by the narrowest of margins, winning the race in 8:38.00 while Maloney’s 8:38.02 earned second.

WCU’s men’s 4x400m relay team finished first and second overall with the “A” team featuring Aaron Tribble, Brandon Hairston, Aaron Harris and Earl Rahming winning in 3:21.94. The “B” team of Ammar Phillips, Demari Boswell, Marquis Bailey and Sam Lusty finished second with their time of 3:30.11. Placing third was WCU’s “C” team with a time of 3:34.02. That team consisted of Tyler Bentley, Ron Duncan, Abraham Faison and Jermaine Lewis.

Freshman Tayla Carter – fresh off her two wins in the 55m and 300m in her debut – continued to impress for the Purple and Gold as she placed third among collegiate runners with her time of 7.59.

In the women’s 800m run, junior Hayley Tomlinson ran a 2:19.65 to finish second. On the men’s side, senior Garrett West earned a sixth place finish.

Jerry Wickerson picked up a top three finish for the Catamounts with his third place in the 200m run. The sophomore ran a 22.44. Also finishing third was junior Keith Leonard in the pole vault. Leonard cleared 4.55m as the top collegiate finisher.

Bob McNeil placed in the top five of both the long jump and the triple jump, with his best finish of second in the triple. McNeil had a best jump of 14.42m in the triple.

Western Carolina travels to Johnson City, Tennessee next week for the Niswonger Invitational.

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Opens Indoor Season at Tiger Challenge

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Wofford men’s and women’s track and field teams had eight athletes finish in the top-ten at the Tiger Challenge to open the 2013 indoor track and field season.

Alex Michaels led the men’s team with a seventh place finish in the mile with a time of 4:37.41.  Stevin Bienfait and Tyrell Jemison finished in seventh and eighth place with times of 24.36 and 24.42 respectively.  Tevin Johnson finished in tenth place in the long jump with a distance of 6.25m, and Andrew McCurry also finished in tenth with a distance of 11.14m. Patrick Cummings finished just outside of the top ten in 11th place in the 800m with a time of 2:02.07.  Ryan Doyle also took 11th in the 3,000m with a time of 9:29.93.

Sam Hughes paced the women’s team with a second place finish in the 3,000m with a time of 10:47.36.  Nicole Klasnic took sixth in the mile with a time of 5:22.70, while Alyssa Burket took ninth with a time of 2:24.02 in the 800m.

The Terriers return to the track Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn. on January 18 for their next meet.

Samford Competes at Blazer Invite

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford track and field opened its 2013 season at the Birmingham Crossplex, competing in the Blazer Invite hosted by UAB.  Multiple Bulldog competitors earned quality marks, including a new school record by sophomore Katelyn Poole.

Poole broke her own school record in the women's shot put with a distance of 41-3.75 (12.59m), good for an eighth-place finish.  This beats her old record of 40-7 (12.37m), set almost exactly one year ago at the 2012 Crimson Tide Indoor Opener.  Senior Chenelle Terry earned Samford's sole event title of the meet, winning the women's high jump with a height of 5-7 (1.70m).

Defending indoor SoCon triple jump champion Emily Allen placed 10th (38-10.25, 11.84m) in Friday's competition while also placing 10th in the weight throw (49-1.5, 14.97m).  School record-holder Tyler Kemp placed sixth in the men's high jump (6-4.75, 1.95m).

Samford's pole vaulters had a good opening weekend as well, with nearly all earning top-ten finishes.  For the women, Laura Bedsole placed third (11-9.75, 3.60m) with Claire Goodson just trailing in fourth (10-11.75, 3.35m) with newcomer Katie Woodruff clearing 8-6.25 (2.60m).  For the men, Owen Wagoner and Ryan Cook tied for second with identical heights of 15-9 (4.80m) while Steven Bastien tied for fourth (14-9, 4.50m) and Ryan Cook tied for eighth (14-3.25, 4.35m).

Steven Crain and Lucas Sieb both competed in the 5,000 meters, placing second (15:37.98) and fourth (16:20.20), respectively.  Newcomer Katelyn Brock earned a top-ten finish in the 800 meters, placing eighth in 2:20.62.  In the women's 60-meter hurdles, Ashley Cope and Julie McDonald both qualified for the finals where they placed ninth (8.91) and 15th (9.09), respectively.  Cope also competed in Friday's long jump, where she finished tied for fifth (18-3.75, 5.58m).  In addition to competing in the men's pole vault, Wagoner ran the 60-meter dash and placed 12th in the prelims (6.92) and 14th in the finals (6.95).

Samford concludes its opening weekend tomorrow with the Alabama High Tide Opener at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Samford Competes at Crimson Tide Indoor Opener

Numerous personal bests were set Saturday by the Samford track and field team, as they continued their opening weekend competing at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener.

After breaking a school record in the shot put at yesterday's Blazer Invitational, Katelyn Poole set a new personal best in the weight throw with a distance of 47-7.75 (14.52m), placing 11th.  Just ahead of her was school record-holder Emily Allen in ninth (50-8, 15.44m).  In the men's high jump, Bob Elliot II tied for second clearing 6-8.75 (2.05m) on his third and final attempt, good for a new personal best mark.  Heptathlon standout Brandon Bassett competed in Saturday's shot put, heaving a personal-best distance of 42-9.75 (13.05m).

On the track, last year's SoCon runner-up in the 800 meters, sophomore Anna Laura Irvine, set a new PR in the event crossing the line in 2:12.21 to finish fourth with teammate Chelsea Treadway close behind in seventh (2:20.09).  Layton Dorsett earned a top-ten finish in the men's 3,000 meters, finishing eighth in 8:36.39, a new personal best for the Birmingham native.  Newcomer Luke Weishaar finished three spots back in 11th with a time of 8:41.43.

2012 SoCon Cross Country champion Lauren D'Alessio impressed in her 2013 track debut, placing second in a competitive women's mile run in 4:52.70.  D'Alessio's runner-up at the Cross Country Championships, freshman Rachel Roberts, earned an equally impressive third-place finish in the 3,000 meters in 9:52.24.  Nathan Hendershot, a transfer from Clemson University, ran well in his Samford debut placing third in the mile run (4:14.08) with freshman Adam Jones hot on his heels in fourth (4:17.42).

Junior Ashley Cope was very busy Saturday, running multiple events and performing well in each.  She placed fourth in the women's pole vault (12-1.5, 3.70m), eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.92) and ran the lead leg on the 1,600-meter relay team that finished in 3:57.00.  Redshirt senior Ben Davies placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdle prelims (8.46), qualifying for the finals where he finished sixth (8.52).  Justin Emerson and Julie McDonald both finished just out of qualifying range in their events, with Emerson ninth in the 60-meter dash prelims (6.89) and McDonald ninth in the 60-meter hurdle prelims (9.00).  Samford's remaining top-ten finishers on the day were Marie Demedicis placing tenth in the 400-meter dash (57.73) and the men's 1,600-meter relay team finishing ninth (3:22.92).

Samford continues its indoor season next weekend, competing at the Auburn Indoor Invitational on Saturday, January 19 at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Cougars Open Season at Tiger Challenge

CLEMSON, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's track & field team opened the indoor season with eight top-10 relay and individual finishes at the Tiger Challenge at Clemson on Friday.

Sophomore Dyshia Parks finished in third-place in the triple jump with a leap of 11.47 meters. Her mark is the fifth-best in school history.

Fellow sophomore Tiffany Sisk, who won the shot put at the 2012 Outdoor Southern Conference Championship, finished fourth in the shot put (12.26 meters) and sixth in the weight throw (13.64 meters). 

Also in the field events, junior Kaitlin McWhorter finished ninth in the long jump with a mark of 5.08 meters.

In the running events, sophomore Hayley McMahon finished eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.45 and sophomore Danielle Sams crossed the finish line in eighth in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 11:01.35.

The Cougars competed in two relays on the day, with the team of freshman Kornelia Kostka, McWhorter, McMahon and junior Christa Horrocks finishing second out of three teams in the distance medley relay in 12:29.57, just three second back of the first-place team.

In the 4X400-meter relay the Cougars finished in 10th place in a time of 4:16.37.

Up next the Cougars travel to Winston Salem for the Wake Forest Invitational on Jan. 19.

Georgia Southern Track & Field Competes at UAB Blazer Invitational

Birmingham, Ala. -- The Georgia Southern Track and Field team competed for the first time in New Year at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Friday, Jan. 11.

Only a partial Eagle squad traveled to Birmingham, Ala. to perform against a stacked field. For full Eagle results, see below.

The Eagles return to action with a full squad next Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19 when they travel to East Tennessee State for the Niswonger Invitational.