Three Event Victories for WCU at the Yellow Jacket Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - Competing against programs from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) the Western Carolina men's and women's track & field teams turned in 36 top-10 finishes including three event victories at the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech. Two of the wins came on the women's side as junior Tayla Carter won the 100m ahead of three student-athletes from Ole Miss who finished second through fourth and senior Xaviera Bass took top honors in the 100m hurdles ahead of runners from Georgia State, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.
Carter completed the dash with a time of 11.61 which is a season best so far for the Catamounts. Bass posted a time of 14.17 while teammate and freshman Alyiah Riley came in eighth at 14.72.
On the men's side it was the 4x100m relay where the Catamounts captured their lone victory. Sophomore Jermaine Lewis, senior Aaron Tribble, freshman Chris Hancock and freshman Brenden Caldwell teamed up to turn in a season best time of 41.46 to top the field.
Sophomore Scott Peretin led a trio of Catamounts in the shot put as he took second overall with a season best throw of 15.02m (49-03.50). Freshman Mateius Brown placed fourth at 14.53m (47-08.00) while junior Jared Johnson came in fifth with a toss of 14.17m (46-06.00).
Senior Devyn Ressler tied for second in the women's pole vault after clearing the bar at 3.75m (12-03.50). Junior Korie Bennett finished tied for ninth with a height of 3.45m (11-03.75).
Caldwell stopped the clock with a season best time of 10.73 in the 100m as he finished third overall. Senior Abraham Faison also finished third in the 110m hurdles after completing the course in 14.36. Junior Justin D'Angelo crossed the finish line in sixth with a time of 15.77 while freshman Kevin Hires came in eighth at 16.38.
Faison and D'Angelo also placed in the top-10 in the other hurdles event as well. Faison finished sixth in the 400m hurdles with a season best time of 53.93 while D'Angelo came in 10th at 56.84.
Carter picked up another top three finish in the women's 200m as she crossed the line in 23.95 to finish third.
Sophomore Anisia Starege tied for third in the women's high jump after clearing the bar at 1.66m (5-05.25). Bass tied for ninth in the event at 1.61m (5-03.25). On the men's side freshman Jaquell Bryant finished tied for fourth in the high jump with a leap of 1.90m (6-02.75).
Junior David Johnson took fifth in the men's triple jump as he hopped his way to 14.36m (47-01.50). Hires tied for 10th in the event at 13.44m (44-01.25).
Senior Genevieve Emrick came in fifth in the 400m on the women's side with a season best time of 55.27. Classmate Lena Elliott also finished fifth but in the 800m as she stopped the clock at 2:16.59. Fellow senior Michaela Birek took fifth as well but in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.60.
The final Catamount women's competitor to finish in the top five was senior Alisha Bradshaw who took fifth in the women's shot put with a toss of 14.14m (46-04.75) which marked a season best for the Catamounts. Sophomore Hailey Cook came in eighth at 13.80m (45-03.50).
Sophomore Kayla Williams, Carter, sophomore Chenell Bryan and sophomore Tiffani Lewis combined to finish fifth in the 4x100m relay with a time of 47.41.
Junior Jamie Bigby took sixth on the men's side in the 800m with a time of 1:55.39 while junior Michael Cornwell turned in a season best time in the 1500m to finish seventh at 3:58.85.
Freshman Henry Kiedy and senior Demari Boswell came in seventh and eighth, respectively, in the men's 400m. Kiedy crossed the line in 49.03 while Boswell finished right on his tail at 49.18.
Redshirt freshman Thor Smith led a trio of Catamounts in the pole vault. He placed seventh after clearing the bar at 4.47m (14-08.00). Freshman Corey Ginley also cleared 4.47m (14-08.00) but finished eight due to more attempts. Sophomore Dustin Triplett finished just behind the pair in ninth with a height of 4.32m (14-02.00).
Triplett also competed in the men's javelin where he finished 10th with a toss of 47.53m (155-11). Redshirt junior Adam Parker came in eighth in the javelin after stopping the tape at 50.73m (166-05).
The Catamounts will be back in action next weekend at the Florida Relays and Terrier Relays.
VMI Women’s 4X400-Relay, Reives and Lysher Lead Keydets at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. - The women's 4X400-meter relay team set a new school record, Renee Reives led three Keydets in the top eight of the women's discus throw and Jacob Lysher finished third in the men's 800 in his first race in precisely one year as VMI track and field wrapped up action at the Fred Hardy Invite, hosted by Richmond Saturday in Richmond, Va.
The women's 4X400 set the Keydets' first school record of the outdoor season, timing in at 4:05 flat to best the previous VMI mark by less than a second. Kennedy Flynn, Christina Hill, Thireyona Legg and Julia Logan - three freshman and a senior - finished fifth overall.
Reives, meanwhile, paced three Keydets in the top eight of the women's discus by finishing second with a best toss of 42.49 meters (139'5"). Elizabeth Johnston was recorded as tying for sixth (37.37 M/122'7") and Logan Edwards was eighth (36.28 M/119'0"). Both Johnston and Edwards' efforts Saturday were personal bests.
Other results on the women's side included Kerisha Goode finishing seventh in both the 100 and 200 - she clocked in at 12.68 in the shorter distance and 25.87 in the 200. In addition, Yaa Agyepong-Wiafe was fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.07) and eighth in the 100-meters (12.72), while Bria Anderson was sixth in the long jump (5.29 M/17'4 1'4") and Bethany King was eighth in the 3K (10:32.98).
On the men's side, Lysher was third in the 800, timing in at 1:53.91 one year to the day since he last raced competitively at the 2014 Fred Hardy Invite.
The 110-meter hurdles saw three Keydets finish in the top five, with Davon Guerrier leading the way in second place. Guerrier timed in at 14.98 seconds, with Quincy Murphy third (15.00) and Lee Warren fifth (15.39). Murphy was also sixth in the long jump (6.52 M/21'4 3/4").
In addition, Luke Phillips (8:59.24) and Jay Broom (9:15.76) were fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 3,000-meters.
VMI track and field will return to action Friday, when the Keydets open competition at the HPU Vertklasse Meet in High Point, N.C.
Paladins Compete At Raleigh Relays & Yellow Jacket Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Furman men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at both the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., and the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday.
At the Raleigh Relays, the Paladin 4x800m relay team of Jacquelyn Crow, Ann Sisson, Becca Cooley, and Maddie Wolfe posted a time of 9:19.60 to capture fifth place.
In Atlanta, sophomore Lee Shearer recorded a third-place finish in the 3,000m Steeplechase after turning in a time of 9:49.24 to lead the Paladin teams.
Furman will compete at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., on April 3 and at the Terrier Relays in Spartanburg, S.C., on April 4.
Edgecombe Sets ETSU Outdoor Record in 100-meter Hurdles at Raleigh Relays
RALEIGH, N.C. – The ETSU track & field program closed out competition at the Raleigh Relays with solid performances overall including a new ETSU record set by senior hurdler Dede Edgecombe on Saturday at the Paul Derr Track & Field Facility on the North Carolina State University campus.
After placing runner-up in the women’s 100-meter hurdles preliminary yesterday with a time of 13.91, Edgecombe continued the momentum today with a school record 13.35 time in the event final to place second behind NC State’s Alexis Perry. The senior was able to best her previous record of 13.48 set last year at the University of Tennessee Challenge.
Junior sprinter Keturah Williams also saw a progression from Friday to today in her event final. Yesterday, Williams placed fourth in the 100-meter dash preliminary with a time of 12.123, but improved on Saturday with a personal-best time of 11.87 to place runner-up.
The Bucs also found successes in relay events on both the men’s and women’s sides. In the men’s 4x800-meter relay, the Bucs placed fifth among 20 other groupings with a time of 7:45.54, while in the men’s 4x1500-meter relay, the Blue & Gold raced to a time of 16:29.42 to place sixth. For the women, ETSU placed seventh in the 4x1500 with a 19:46.77 race.
Additonally, junior Thomas Miller posted a sixth-place finish among 20-plus competitors in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.61.
The ETSU track & field program will be back in action next weekend – April 2 -4 -- in Gainesville, Florida when it takes part in the Pepsi Florida Relays at James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track.
Wofford Track & Field Excels at Winthrop Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Wofford College track & field team continued to excel at the Winthrop Invitational this weekend, breaking multiple personal records over the course of the weekend.
On the men’s side, multiple personal records were set. Christian Widenhouse (15:57.71) and Jonathan Rice (16:20.53) both set personal records in the men’s 5,000 meter.
Gaston Hayworth continued to impress for the Terrier men. The sophomore placed in the hammer throw, tossing an impressive 45.81 meters, good for a ninth place finish.
For the women, the 4x400 meter relay set the pace. The team ran a season best 4:16.23, good for a 10th place finish. In the 5,000 meter, Marella Angello (19:02.96), Breck Peterson (19:20.62) and Sarah Spiro (19:30.31) all set personal records.
Wofford track & field hosts the Terrier Relays next Saturday, April 4, at Spartanburg High School.
UNCG Track Competes in Raleigh Relays
RALEIGH, N.C. - The UNCG men’s and women’s track teams competed in the Raleigh Relays on Friday and Saturday at the Paul H. Derr track on the campus of NC State.
On Friday, John Elwood and Jonathan Hodge set new personal bests in the 400-meter race. Elwood finished the race in 52.54 and Hodge had a final time of 50.92.
On Saturday, Eira Jensen set a new personal record in the 1,500-meter race, finishing in 4:36.70. Bryan Whyms finished the race in 3:59.70.
Next on the slate for the Blue and Gold are the Stanford Invitational and the High Point Vertklasse Meet. The Stanford Invitational is set for Friday April 3 and Saturday April 4. The High Point Vertklasse meet is a one day event on April 4.