Mocs First, Second in DMR at ETSU Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s Distance Medley Relay team took first on the final day of the ETSU Invitational Saturday at the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center while the women placed second.
Senior John Gilpin led off the men’s DMR with the 1200 meter run before passing the baton to junior Geoff Nelson for the 400 meter leg. Junior Marquis Carter took over for the 800 meter leg and Paul Stuart anchored the team for the 1600 meter leg, finishing in a time of 10:19.38, more than 10 seconds ahead of Tennessee Wesleyan’s team.
The Mocs’ second DMR team placed sixth overall led by junior Trevor Janssen in the first leg. Freshman Drake Watson ran the 400 meter and handed off to junior Austin Casassa for the third leg while junior Patrick O’Brien ran the anchor for a time of 10:46.13.
The women’s DMR team, headed by sophomore Maddison Melchionna, placed second with a time of 12:35.29, behind Alabama State. Junior Kiaana Howard ran the second leg with sophomore Hannah Chamblin on the third leg and freshman Emily Drouin running the anchor.
The women’s second DMR team of junior Helenka Kis, and sophomores Jasmine Snell, Chandler Rogers and Jessica York placed fifth overall in a time of 12:58.25.
Senior Amanda Cotter placed fourth in the women’s 3000 meter run, 15 seconds off the lead pace set by top finisher Sarah Paddon of Davidson. In the women’s 800 meter run, junior Makala Diggs won the secod heat and placed fourth overall with a time of 2:24.26.
Senior Rebecca Greenwall placed sixth in the women’s Mile Invitational with a time of 5:17.29, just eight seconds out of first place.
Junior Matthew Marshall won his heat in the 800 meter run and took 11th overall with a time of 2:01.70. Freshman Micah Howard placed 25th with a time of 2:06.37 and junior Zack Darby was 33rd with a time of 2:08.33.
In the women’s unseeded Mile Run, sophomore Madalyn Garland took first in the third heat, placing 10th overall with a time of 5:40.18.
Next up for the Mocs will be the Middle Tennessee Invitational on Feb. 7 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Bucs Wrap Up ETSU Invitational with Strong Performances
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – After solid showings on day one, the ETSU track & field program picked up where it left on Saturday with four top-three event finishes on the final day of the 2015 ETSU Track & Field Invitational inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center.
For the second consecutive day, the Bucs got off to a solid start. In one of the first events of the day, freshman distance runner Sarah Zimmer took first place in the unseeded women’s 3000 meter run with a time of 10:56.09. The race featured only one section and was a field of competition featuring 29 total runners.
Later, around noon, sophomore Brett Squibbs continued to be a force in the pole vault. Competing against approximately 15 other vaulters, Squibbs cleared a 4.85 meters bar to take the event title. The ETSU sophomore edged out Kennesaw State’s Joshua Mulder in second place who registered a 4.75 meters clearance.
After taking the top spot in the women’s 60 meter hurdle preliminaries yesterday, senior hurdler Dede Edgecombe squared off against a cast of four other competitors in Saturday’s event final. In the race, the senior raced to a first-place 8.45 time and was trailed in second place by North Carolina A&T’s Morgan Knight with a time of 8.60.
During the early evening, five ETSU distance runners raced in the men’s 3000 meter invitational. Pacing the pack for the Bucs was junior Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia) who finished third overall, but first among collegiate competitors in the race, with a personal-best time of 8:34.96. Unattached Adam Freudenthal finished runner up with an 8:19.44 time, while Matthew Elliott of Brooks – one of the top distance runners in the country -- placed first with a time of 8:11.49.
The ETSU track & field program will be back in action next weekend, Jan. 23 and 24, at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Wofford’s Hayworth Breaks School Record at ETSU Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Sophomore Gaston Hayworth set a personal best and broke a school record to highlight the Wofford College track & field team’s performance at the 2015 ETSU Invitational this weekend.
Hayworth broke a record he set previously this season in the weight throw, tossing 12.32 m (40’5”). The previous record was 11.68m.
Other notable finishes on the men’s side included junior Tevin Johnson, who finished the high jump in 16th with a height of 6.40 m, and freshman Ben Hensley, who finished in 21st in the 800m run with a time of 2:05.10.
For the women, junior Marella Angello placed 11th in the 3,000m with a time of 11:23.88. Freshman Sara Hayes had a Top-20 finish as well, placing 18th in the 880m with a time of 2:30.60.
The Terriers compete again at the Bob Pollack Invitational next weekend in Clemson, South Carolina.
4X4, White Lead VMI at Final Day of ETSU Invite
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The women's 4X400-meter relay broke a 13-year-old school record, while Jordan White posted his second top-five finish of the two-day meet in the men's throws as action for the VMI Keydet track and field programs wrapped up at the final day of the ETSU Invitational, contested Saturday in Johnson City, Tenn.
The women's 4X4, running as the second to last event of the day, clocked in at 4:05.53 to set the new Keydet record. Thireyona Legg, Christina Hill, Julia Logan and Deborah Allison teamed to break the old mark, which had stood since 2002, by over three seconds in finishing 15th at Saturday's meets.
Other women's results included the distance medley relay's fourth-place finish, as Bethany King, Hill, Kennedy Flynn and Hannah Dickinson recorded a time of 12:55.82. Flynn would also finish sixth in the unseeded section of the 800-meters, while Dickinson was ninth in the seeded 3,000-meter run.
In addition, Kelly Russell was seventh in the unseeded mile, timing in at 5:34.78 to log over a 16-second personal best.
On the men's side, White led the way for the second consecutive day, this time with a third-place finish in the shot put. Much like the weight throw Friday, when he finished fifth, White recorded his key mark on the second throw. This time he stretched the tape to 15.19 meters (49'10”) to earn the result.
Grant Holmes was also in action, competing in the men's pole vault, and he wound up tied for seventh by clearing the bar at 4.45 meters (14'7 1/4”).
In the unseeded portion of the mile, Luke Phillips logged a new personal best by crossing the line in 4:25.82. Phillips finished second in that portion of the competition, losing on a lean at the line by .01 seconds.
Finally, the men's distance medley relay (Avery Martin, Julian Jackson, Josh Willard, Hartnel Paultre) finished fourth in 10:32.38 and Micah Ellington was sixth in the unseeded 3,000-meters (9:07.82).
VMI track and field returns to action Friday, as the Keydets open competition at the two-day Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg.
UNCG Women's Track Opens Season at UNC
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The UNCG women’s track team opened the 2015 indoor season at the 2015 Art and Linda Maillet Open Saturday afternoon on the campus of UNC.
In the 800-meter run, Katy Link led the Spartans with a sixth place finish with a time of 2:21.33. The time was a new personal best for the redshirt sophomore.
Eira Jensen finished in ninth place overall after completing the race in 2:27.36.
In the 60-meter dash preliminaries, Measiha Bullock finished with a time of 8.68 and both A’Myrah Bates and Manneja Cordray finished the race with a final time of 8.83.
Haley Wenos finished the 400-meter dash in 1:09. 53. Makayla Yables finished the event in 1:09.96.
Katlyn Adkins and Sarah DeSantis competed in the one-mile run. Adkins finished with a time of 5:55.61 and DeSantis wrapped up the race in 6:18.41.
Tiana Green and Alexis Garnder both represented the Blue and Gold in the 200-meter dash. Green recorded a time of 27.99, while Gardner notched a final time of 30.65.
Amy Moret finished the 3,000-meter run in 12:48.57.
Bulldogs Work To Improve At Auburn Invitational
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University track and field team competed in a meet filled with top-quality programs at the Auburn Invitational inside the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Jan. 17.
The Bulldogs held their own against a tough field of competitors but it showed head coach Rod Tiffin that there is still work to be done going forward.
Fightmaster recorded a mark of 2.05m in the high jump in his first ever collegiate meet last weekend which put him in the top five of the Samford record book but moved to top of the list after improving on that mark this weekend. The Calhoun, Georgia native put a mark of 2.10m on his last attempt at that height to tie the Samford record.
It was freshman Arsene Guillorell however who turned in the Bulldogs top-finish of the day as he blazed a trail on his way to a second place overall finish in the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:22.
Javion Lee continued where he left off last week when he posted another personal best in the men's triple jump with a 15.00m leap to take third in the event.
Senior Marie Demedicis placed fourth overall in the women's 800 meter run with a time of 2:11.69 while teammate Anna Laura Irvine raced in with a time of 2:15.31 to place seventh.
Sophomore Ansley Bos broke her personal best yet again in the women's mile run with a time of 4:54.53 to place sixth overall in the event. Freshman Karisa Nelson followed suit and improved her time from last week to a time of 4:55.59 and an eighth place finish.
Marquis Barnes entered the long jump competition with a personal best of 6.64m that he recorded just last week in the UAB Blazer Invitational and improved that to a mark 6.79m on his way to a 7th place finish. Barnes also notched a personal best in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.60.
Tray Oates achieved a new personal best in the pole vault on his last attempt at the height of 4.90m while he also secured a fourth place finish overall in the event. Freshman Gavin Gautreau finished fifth behind Oates with a mark of 4.75m.
The Bulldogs officially hit the road for the first time of the indoor season next weekend when they travel to take part in the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational on Jan. 23-24 but first they will hold a stand-alone multi on Jan. 21-22.
Catamounts Wrap Up Action at ETSU Invitational
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Western Carolina University track & field team picked up 20 more top-10 finishes Saturday at the ETSU Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., including a pair of event wins. Junior Michael Cornwell led the way with an individual victory in the one mile invitational with a time of 4:20.07. The men also picked up a win in the 4x400 relay.
Cornwell was joined in the one mile invitational by sophomore JC Cornett who finished fifth and just four seconds behind Cornwell with a time of 4:24.50. Junior Jamie Bigby competed in the one mile unseeded event and finished seventh with a time of 4:32.28.
Freshman Dakota Lamont, freshman Kaleb McEntyre, senior Demari Boswell and freshman Henry Kiedy combined to win the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:16.60. They topped teams from South Carolina State, Kennesaw State, Bethune-Cookman, Appalachian State, Virginia State, Alabama State, King College, North Carolina A&T, VMI, ETSU, Lincoln Memorial, Chattanooga, Lees-McRae, Mars Hill, Wofford, Tennessee Wesleyan and Montreat.
Junior Tayla Carter improved one spot on her third place qualifying time in the 60m finals on Saturday. She crossed the line in 7.50 to finish second in the race.
Junior Kaitlyn Shetler and senior Lena Elliott finished fourth and sixth respectively, in the women's one mile unseeded race while junior Aleshia Reese placed 10th in the one mile invitational. Shetler finished the event in 5:26.77 while Elliott crossed the line in 5:31.10. Reese posted the best time for the Catamounts at 5:21.95.
Kiedy was unable to finish first in the 400m final after qualifying as the top seed. He placed fourth in the event with a time of 49.55.
Sophomores Chenell Bryan and Tiffani Lewis competed in the women's long jump seeded finals. Bryan finished fourth with a distance of 5.64m (18-06.00) while Lewis came in 10th with a leap of 5.46m (17-09.75).
On the men's side, junior Jared Johnson was the final top-five individual finisher with a fifth-place showing in the shot put. Johnson posted a toss of 14.88m (48-10.00) to finish .06 meters ahead of sixth place.
Bigby, junior Dante Ortado, sophomore Kaleel Barton and redshirt sophomore Clay Howarth teamed up to take fifth in the men's distance medley relay. The group posted a final time of 10:34.89.
Senior Xaviera Bass finished fifth in the 60m hurdles after qualifying in the same position. She crossed the line in 9.09.
Redshirt junior Michelle Provost came in sixth in the 5000m after crossing the line in 19:29.92. She also competed in the distance medley relay with teammates Shetler, junior Michaela Williams and Elliott. The group finished seventh with a time of 13:03.15.
Elliott and Williams joined sophomores Alexis Robinson and Latasha Pride in the 4x400 relay. The group finished eighth with a time of 3:58.80.
Redshirt freshman Thor Smith tied for ninth in the pole vault with a height of 4.30m (14-01.25), WCU's final top-10 finisher was freshman Jaquell Bryant who came in 10th in the high jump with a leap of 1.98m (6-06.00).
The Catamounts will return to action next weekend at the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson, S.C.