Davidson Competes at Day One of Niswonger InvitationalJOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A long holiday break didn't deter the Davidson women's track & field team from having a solid outing to start the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State Friday evening at the MHSA Athletic Center. Erin Osment claimed a win in the 5,000meter run – the Wildcats' lone event on Friday. Osment crossed the line in a time of 17:22.59, beating out a pair of runners from SoCon foe Appalachian State for the victory, Sarah Paddon also earned a top-10 finish, taking eighth in a time of 18:28.34. Hayden Bates took 15th overall, marking the first of three-straight Wildcats to cross the line. She clocked in at 19:04.89, and was followed closely by Ali Cobb in 16th at 19:07.48. Jenny Fritz rounded out the group with a time of 19:07.97 for 18th place. The Wildcats will return to the track Saturday morning for day two of the invitational.
Wofford Competes at First Day of Niswonger InvitationalJOHNSON CITY, TN – The Wofford men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams competed in day one of the 36th annual Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State University Friday afternoon inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center.
The men were highlighted by freshman James Gaston who competed and finished 23rd in the weight throw tossing a distance of 9.99m.
Also for the men, Stevin Bienfait competed in the 60m sprint and Travis Butler took part in the 400m run.
For the women, freshman Faith Jewkes competed in the 200m preliminaries and finished first in the 19th heat with a time of 28.59.
In addition, sophomores Sloan Brandon, Nicole Carpenter, and Shaakira Brown, seniors Meghan Wang and Katie Kessler, and junior Jordan Burke also competed in multiple events for the Terriers.
Elon Competes at Day One of Liberty OpenLYNCHBURG, Va. – The Elon University women’s track and field team completed day one of competition at the Liberty Open on Friday evening, Jan. 17, at the Tolsma Indoor Track facility. The Phoenix had several performers place in the weight throw and pole vault events, including runner-up finishes by Claire Smith (pole vault) and Charlise Morgan (weight throw).
Morgan threw a distance of 53’1.5” (16.19m) in her first indoor event of the year and finished second overall. Kayleigh Birks also joined Morgan in the top three with her toss of 50’5.25” (15.37m), now the third-best mark in school history. Kimberlyn Holt had a throw of 44’5.25 (13.54m) and freshman Briana O’Grady with her mark of 40’10.25” (12.45m) rounded out the weight throw group for Elon.
In the pole vault, Smith also finished second with a cleared height of 10’10” (3.30m). Melinda Hersey also competed for the maroon and gold and had a cleared height of 9’10” (3.00m).
The Phoenix will return tomorrow, Jan. 18, at Liberty for the second and final day of competition. The meet resumes at 9 a.m. with the men’s weight throw followed by running events at 11 a.m. with the women’s 60-meter hurdle prelims.
Georgia Southern Competes at Day One of Niswonger InvitationalJOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Freshman Kelsey Arnold was reaching distances of 16 meters or more in Weight Throw practice this week, but had not hit that milestone in competition. Arnold changed that Friday afternoon with a 16.16m (53’0.25”) distance at the Niswonger Invitational, good for third place all-time in Georgia Southern’s record book in the event.
On the first day of competition at one of the nation’s largest indoor track & field meets, the Eagles made more strides with 16 efforts that rank as personal bests. In addition to Arnold’s top-three performance in the Weight Throw, Sherril McFarlane was within hundredths of a second of breaking her own record in the 800m. McFarlane took first place in the event and was three seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
Thrower Ashley Thomas joined Arnold in the top 10 of the Weight Throw with her personal best, a distance of 15.18m. Three Eagles had personal bests in the Triple Jump including Ashleigh Rasheed, who improved upon her mark from last weekend by than 2’8”. Dana Edwards had a top-20 finish and set her personal best in the 400m with a 59.67 time while newcomer Jordan Fordham posted the best time of the 2013-14 season in the 60m Dash.
Of those setting personal bests, Camryn Coleman (Triple Jump, 200m); Rian Mobley-Luke (60m Hurdles, 400m Dash) and Taylor Johnson (400m Dash, Triple Jump) all improved their previous top efforts in two events.