ETSU Men Take Home Distance Medley Relay Title at Hokie Invitational
BLACKSBURG, Va. – On day two at the Hokie Invitational inside Rector Field House on the Virginia Tech campus, the ETSU track & field program had a few notable performances including capturing the distance medley relay event title on the men’s side, and Ashley Kessler matching the ETSU school record in the women’s pole vault.
The squad of Angus Baldwin, A’Darrius Sanders, Thomas Miller, and Matt Warriner turned in an impressive performance on Saturday in a field of competition featuring six additional teams. In the men’s distance medley relay, the quartet raced to a time of 10:03.15; just ahead of second-place Duke who trailed with a 10:03.26 time.
On the women’s side, sophomore jumper Kessler turned in one of the best showings in school history in the indoor women’s pole vault. In a seeded event featuring some of the region’s best, the underclassman registered an ETSU record-matching mark of 3.80 meters. The standing record was set last season by Katerina Vodova at the Hilton Garden Innvitational.
Additionally, another young Buc had a strong showing with freshman jumper Timia Easley (Columbus, Ohio) posting a mark of 5.69 meters in the women’s long jump. This leap was good for sixth place out more than 30 participants in the event.
The indoor season will continue next weekend for the ETSU track & field program at the Hilton Garden Innvitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Paladins Pick Up Five Top-Ten Finishes In Second Day Of Vanderbilt Invitational
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Sinead Haughey placed third with a time of 9:38.12 in the 3,000m to lead the Furman indoor track and field teams Saturday at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn. All told, the Paladins picked up five top-ten finishes on the day.
The Furman men claimed five of the top 14 spots in the mile, as sophomore Troy Reeder posted a personal-best time of 4:05.86 for seventh place, while fellow sophomore Brock Baker claimed tenth place with a time of 4:11.12. Baker was followed in 11th place by freshman Austin Sprague (4:11.46) and in 12th place by sophomore Nate Riech (4:11.82). Senior James Perez turned in a time of 4:13.42 for 14th place.
Sophomore Matt Lange placed ninth in the 3,000m with a time of 8;23.03, and senior William Ivey was 13th in the 800m after crossing the line in 1:53.43, just .43 seconds over the Furman indoor record for the event.
Freshman Jacquelyn Crow recorded a personal-best time of 4:54.59 for sixth place in the women’s mile event, while sophomore Allie Buchalski was 14th at 4:59.66.
The Paladins will compete at the Hilton Garden Invitational January 30-31 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Jackson and Reives Pace VMI on Final Day at Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Julian Jackson ran the fastest indoor 400-meters by a VMI Keydet since 2010, and Renee Reives qualified for the ECAC Championships in the shot put to lead the VMI track and field programs on the last day of the Hokie Invitational, contested Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
Jackson, after finishing fourth in the 300-meters on Friday night, finished 14th in the 400 on Saturday with a time of 49.67 seconds. It was the fastest indoor 400 by a Keydet since James Alexander ran a 48.77 at Akron in Feb. of 2010.
Other results on the men's side included Jordan White continuing his strong start to the year with a personal best in the shot put. White finished 13th with a best throw of 15.31 meters (50'2 3/4").
In addition, Aron Long finished 17th in the 200 with a time of 22.47 seconds.
On the women's side, it was Reives leading the way with a third-place finish in the shot, as she hurled the implement 13.63 meters (44'8 3/4") to qualify for March's ECAC Championships.
Saturday also saw freshmen Julia Logan, Kennedy Flynn and Kerisha Goode deliver notable results. Logan finished tied for seventh in the high jump, clearing 1.61 meters (5'3 1/4") to post the third-best mark in program history. Flynn was eighth in the 800-meters (2:23.11) and Goode finished 25th in the 200 at 26.01, just missing becoming the fourth Keydet to go under the 26-second mark in that event.
In addition, Thireyona Legg was 25th in the 400-meters, crossing the line in 59.61 seconds.
"I thought we had several good performances today," said VMI head coach Darrin Webb. "We will look to continue to improve during our off week, and come back ready for Youngstown State this first full weekend in February."
VMI track and field will return to action Feb. 6, when the Keydets open competition at the two-day YSU National College Invitational in Youngstown, Ohio.
Oates Sets Tone For Bulldogs At Vanderbilt Invite
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It was another weekend filled of personal best, school records and top ten finishes for the Samford University track and field teams as the competed in the Vanderbilt University Indoor Invitational on Saturday, January 24, at the Recreational Center/Indoor Track Facility.
The Bulldogs have continued to improve week after week on times and marks, especially on the big stage.
Tray Oates set the tone for Samford on Friday with a personal best and first place finish in the men's pole vault. The Acworth, Georgia native came into the meet with the personal best mark of 4.90m and shattered on his second attempt at the height of 5.20m; the mark also stands as the second best in the program's history.
The tone set by Oates spilled over into Saturday's competition as the Bulldogs would set three school records.
Junior Brandon Hazouri captured a fifth place finish in the men's 800 meters with a school record time of 1:50.02. The previous record was held by current teammate Nathan Hendershot who posted a time of 1:51.48 on Jan. 18, 2014.
Later in the afternoon it was Arsène Guillorel who made a splash in the men's 3,000 meters with a third place finish time of 8:11.68 to shatter the school record by four seconds. Guillorel made a push at the record the previous weekend in his first ever collegiate attempt at the event but fell just shy of the 8:15.74 mark set by Cameron Bean back in 2010.
The Bulldogs capped off the night when the combination of Sarah Sanford, Abbie Cutcliffe, Anna Laura Irvine and Marie Demedicis broke Samford school record in the women's 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:52.27 which was good for a 10th place finish.
At the end of competition you couldn't count on one hand all of the personal best that this group of Bulldogs set this weekend and after the third straight week of competition the team will get a much needed break.
The Bulldogs next competition will take place on the weekend of Feb. 13-14, when the team hosts the Samford Invitational and Multi at the Birmingham Crossplex.