Martin and Lysher Pace VMI on Saturday
BOONE, N.C. - Avery Martin entered the top-60 regionally in the 1,500 and Jacob Lysher qualified for the IC4A Championships to lead VMI track and field at the Appalachian State Open, contested Saturday in Boone, N.C.
Martin won the 1,500 that featured a rabbit at altitude, clocking in at 3:48.94 to take the victory. With the NCAA-mandated multiplier for altitude, Martin's mark for NCAA listings is 3:46.15 and ranks him 56th on the East Region performance list. The top-48 advance to the Preliminary Round meet later this season.
Lysher, meanwhile, was fifth in the 800 with a time of 1:51.39, just edging under the IC4A qualification standard of 1:51.80.
Two other Keydets narrowly missed IC4A standards Saturday, including Grant Holmes in the pole vault. Holmes was fourth at 4.65 M/15'3". Jordan White fell just shy of the needed mark in the discus, posting a top mark of 47.42/155'7" to place fourth on the day. White is, however, qualified for the IC4A meet in the shot put.
VMI had two runners in action in the 400-meters, with Julian Jackson placing sixth at 49.67 and Brandon Hartman finishing eighth at 50.17 seconds.
Finally, Luke Phillips (4:05.86/14th) and Micah Ellington (4:10.32/17th) were in action in the 1,500-meters.
On the women's side, Mary Grace Lemon delivered a strong performance in advance of next weekend's ECAC Championships, posting a best mark of 52.60 M/172'7" in the hammer. The season-best effort was good for a runner-up finish in Lemon's final career regular season meet.
In addition, Kennedy Flynn was sixth in the 800 at 2:19.12 and Bethany King wrapped up her freshman campaign with a 4:56.32 time and a seventh-place result in the 1,500.
VMI track and field will return to action May 15 at the IC4A/ECAC Championships.
Track & Field Competes Saturday at Tennessee Challenge
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The ETSU track & field program returned to competition Saturday at the University of Tennessee Challenge at Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium.
In the one-day meet featuring various team from throughout the Southeast, the Buccaneers had a number of solid showings. Two top-10 finishing student-athletes were able to secure personal bests in their respective events with junior Thomas Miller placing fourth – out of 25 participants – in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.30, while in the women’s 1500-meter run, sophomore Victoria Hutchens raced to a 4:45.50 time to finish 10th out of 25 runners.
Sophomore hurdler Mike Williams turned in ETSU’s highest finish of the day with a third-place standing in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.39. On the women’s side in the same event, senior Nicole Alexander raced to a seventh-place finish with a 1:02.35 race.
The Blue & Gold also recorded strong performance in respective pole vault events with junior Ashley Kessler placing sixth with a mark of 3.87 meters, while in the men’s pole vault, sophomore Brett Squibbs finished ninth with a 5.06 meters vault.
Samford's Fightmaster Continues To Electrify In High Jump
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Samford University track and field teams trekked to the campus of the University of Tennessee to take part in the Tennessee Challenge on Saturday, May 2.
Keyth Fightmaster continued to be electric in the men's high jump this weekend. The Calhoun, Gerogia native broke his own school record of 2.17m that he set just only a week ago at the SoCon Outdoor Championships with a 2.20m leap and a first place finish.
One other Bulldog took home a first place finish at the Tennessee Challenge on Saturday. Freshman Sarah Sanford beat the field with a time of 13.98 in the women's 100m hurdles.
Samford student-athletes went on to post several other Top 5 finishes in the meet. The quartet of Javion Lee, Katelyn Poole, Aerial Horton and Nathan Hendershot each tallied a Top 5 finish. Lee took second place in the in the men's triple jump with a mark of 15.27m while Poole and Horton earned third and fourth place finishes respectively in the women's shot put with marks of 13.16m and 12.96m.
Hendershot tallied a third place finish in the men's 800 meters to round out the Bulldogs efforts with a time 1:50.47.
Brian Hill, Kristin Brining and Shelby Campbell each recorded personal bests in the meet. Hill bettered his personal mark with a 47.31m toss in the men's discus while Brining set hers by posting a 54.74m mark in the women's hammer throw.
Campbell raced his way to a personal best in the men's 200 meter dash with a personal best time of 22.24.
The Bulldogs will return to action next weekend when the team travels to take part in a meet hosted by the University of Georgia.
Furman's Hurt, Haughey Compete At Payton Jordan Invitational
STANFORD, Calif. - Seniors Tripp Hurt and Sinead Haughey competed at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, Calif., this weekend.
Hurt, who was named the Furman Male Athlete of the Year earlier this week, posted a time of 8:54.14 in the 3,000m Steeplechase, placing 11th in his section, while Haughey finished 12th in her section of the 5,000m after recording a time of 16:33.01. The Paladin duo has qualified for the NCAA East Regional, which will be held in Jacksonville, Fla., May 29-31.
Select members of the Furman track and field team will compete at the Oregon Twilight in Eugene, Ore., on May 8.
Melchionna Sets PR at Tennessee Challenge
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Maddison Melchionna ran a personal record 2:09.98, placing fifth in the women’s 800 meter run Saturday afternoon in the Tennessee Challenge at the Tom Black Track.
She placed second in her heat, outpacing her previous top time by 1.62 seconds and was just one second off the school record set by current assistant coach Anneli Uys Morrison in 2009.
Senior Amanda Cotter was caught in a slow heat in the women’s 1500 meter. She placed sixth with a time of 4:33.91, more than four seconds off her top time.
Junior Marquis Carter ran the men’s 800 meter in a time of 1:54.09 for the final meet of his career at Chattanooga.
The Mocs took home two top 10 finishes in the meet as they close out the 2015 season.