BUCS SUCCESSFUL ON FINAL DAY OF MUSIC CITY CHALLENGE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a final day full of personal bests and improvements, the ETSU men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded its final day at the Music City Challenge in Nashville on Saturday.
Highlights of Day Two
· Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fla.) set a new personal best as he shaved off over 30 seconds in his 3000m performance. On Saturday, the freshman clocked in at 8:23.95, which put him in tenth place in the final, and he was just over two seconds away from tying sixth place.
· Matthew Warriner (Maryville, Tenn.) competed in the men’s mile run for the Bucs. He set a season best in the event with a 4:15.74 time, and he was just over a second from cracking the top-10 in a tight race.
· The senior, Thomas Miller (Lithonia, Ga.), nearly cracked the top-10 as he was just under a second from matching the 10th place runner. The 1:51.54 mark set a season best for the Lithonia, Ga. native.
· After just missing out of the top-10 yesterday in the women’s 200m, Katrina Seymour (New Providence, Bahamas) finished fifth in the women’s 400m dash to earn a top-5 finish in Nashville. The time of 54.70 was am ETSU program, career and season best for the senior from the Bahamas.
· 2016 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, Kyra Atkins (Greer, S.C.), nearly claimed a spot in the finals of the women’s 60m hurdles. She crossed with an 8.52 time and was just 0.06 from earning a spot in the finals of the 60mH.
· In her second event of the day, Atkins set a new personal best as she made a leap of 5.86m in the women’s long jump. Her previous best was set at the 2016 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships with a jump of 5.64m.
· Starr Graham (Alpharetta, Ga.) also set a personal best as she competed in the women’s 60m dash. She crossed with a 7.93 time, which bested her previous best by 0.04 seconds.
· To headline the final day of the Music City Challenge, senior Matthew Moore (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) finished fourth in the men’s 60m dash of the preliminary rounds. He crossed with a 6.83 time. In the finals, Moore finished in fourth as he shaved off 0.01 seconds.
· Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m teams improved its times from last week at the Buccaneer Track and Field Invitational. The women’s team nearly took off eight seconds from last week as it finished with a 3:50.09 time. The men’s team almost shaved three seconds off its performance last week as it crossed with a 3:18.00 time in Nashville.
PALADINS COMPETE AT IOWA STATE CLASSIC
AMES, IOWA – Two athletes competed for the Furman indoor track and field team Saturday at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.
Freshman Jake Ogden placed 16th with a time of 4:11.04 in the mile, and sophomore Ryan Adams posted a time of 1:51.10 in the 800m, taking 28th place.
The events conclude a successful weekend for the Paladins, a four school records fell on Friday.
Furman will compete at the Tiger Tune Up in Clemson, S.C., on February 17.
SAMFORD TRACK & FIELD SHINES AT 2017 SAMFORD INVITATIONAL
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Just two weeks away from the highly-anticipated 2017 Southern Conference Championships, the Samford University track and field team excelled in its final tune-up of the indoor regular season this weekend as the Bulldogs’ men earned the championship title of the Samford Invitational, while the women’s squad earned a second-place finish.
The Samford men’s team accumulated a meet score of 88 and won the title by eight points over second-place Indiana State. On the women’s side, the Bulldogs posted a mark of 77.5, but came up short of the first-place position behind Indiana State (94)
Samford true freshman Emmanuel Tait earned a pair of top-two finishes Friday. The Bulldogs’ highly-touted native of Alabaster placed second in both the 60-meter dash (6.84) and 60-meter hurdles (8.08).
Once again, the 1-mile run proved to be a dominant event for Samford. The Bulldogs’ Ben Bryant (4:08.13), Josh Salter (4:15.11) and Owen Bailey (4:15.35) earned finishes of fourth, eighth and ninth, respectively, while senior Brandon Hazouri ran unattached Friday and set a complex record with a head-turning time of 4:00.50
Samford’s Arsene Guillorel dominated the 5000-meter run with a blazing time of 14:17.00. The Bulldogs’ men also claimed event titles in the high jump and pole vaul
Junior Keyth Fightmaster achieved a height of 2.10 meters to win the high jump, while two-time reigning SoCon Field Athlete of the Week Tray Oates set a meet record by clearing 5.46 meters in the pole vault. The previous meet record was 5.35 meters and was achieved by Nikita Kirillov on Feb. 14, 201
Samford’s Drew Patterson also registered a top-10 finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.90 meter
The Bulldogs’ combination of Marquis Barnes and Javion Lee swept the distance jump events Friday. Barnes earned the championship title in the long jump with a mark of 7.28 meters, while Lee outdistanced all of the competitors in the triple jump with a length of 14.65 meter
Additionally, Samford’s Barnes earned a fourth-place finish in the triple jump at 13.92 meters. Lee placed seventh in the long jump (7.03 meters
On the women’s side, the Bulldogs’ Tonia McKinley and Abigail Cutcliffe both earned top-five performances in the 200-meter dash. McKinley placed third with a time of 24.95, while Cutcliffe finished fifth at 25.04.
Samford’s Shian Mallory took the championship title in the 800-meter run as she inched out Tulane’s Jessica Adamson by two one-hundredths of a second. Mallory tallied a first-place time of 2:12:28, while Adamson had to settle for second with a mark of 2:12.30.
In the 3000-meter run, the Bulldogs’ Emma Garner registered a sixth-place finish with a time of 9:58.10. Samford also notched a second-place performance in the 4x400 relay Friday with a posting of 3:49.24.
The Bulldogs racked up 17.5 team points in the high jump competition as Selena Popp (1.72 meters), Courtney Prengaman (1.72 meters) and Carrie Neill (1.67 meters) finished second, third and fifth, respectively. Additionally, Samford’s Lindsey Kessler earned six points Friday by placing third in the pole vault. She cleared a height of 3.80 meters in the event.
The long jump also proved to be a strong point for the Bulldogs in the 2017 Samford Invitational.
True freshman Erin Hines earned a second-place finish in the event with a distance of 5.77 meters, while Popp garnered seventh place with a mark of 5.58 meters.
Samford sophomore Megan Meadow, the reigning SoCon Field Athlete of the Week, continued her brilliant indoor season Friday with a second-place finish in the triple jump. Meadow, the Bulldogs’ native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, earned a distance of 11.98 meters in the event, while teammate Tiana Pisoni placed sixth with a mark of 11.51.
Camille Caldwell achieved a distance of 16.76 meters in the weight throw Friday to earn an eighth-place position in the event.
The Samford University track and field team will next be in action Feb. 25-26, as the Bulldogs return to Johnson City, Tennessee, for the 2017 SoCon Indoor Championships, which will be held at the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center located on the campus of East Tennessee State University.
MOCS POST IMPROVED TIMES AT SAMFORD OPEN SATURDAY
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s indoor track team closed out the regular season Saturday at the Samford Open at the Birmingham Crossplex with several improved times this season.
Sophomore Mercedes Bright (Kingsport, Tenn.) was the Mocs’ top finisher in the 60 meter dash, matching her PR in the race at 8.3 seconds.
In the 800 meter run, freshman Abby Bateman (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and freshman Sydney Gilliam (Brentwood, Tenn.) each posted improved times since their last meet while junior Anna Kate Chance (Columbia, Tenn.) and freshman Rebekah Wich (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) also posted top times this season. Wich dropped more than 13 seconds off her previous best.
Freshman Nicole Buerhle (Sugarloaf, Pa.) was the first Chattanooga runner across the line in the Mile Run despite not competing at that distance for a couple of year. Classmate Hannah Caldwell (Brentwood, Tenn.) placed second in her heat in the mile with a time of 5:26.95.
“We had several good performances today,” Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. “All of these young ladies are putting the racing puzzle together just in time for the SoCon in two weeks.”
The Mocs will return to the Crossplex for the Southern Conference Championships at the end of the month.
Several of the Mocs men’s cross country team ran unattached this weekend. Sophomore Mark Britt (Lebanon, Tenn.) finished second in his heat in the Mile run while three of the men’s team competed in the 3000 meter run. Sophomore John Payne (Portland, Tenn.) was UTC’s top finisher with a time of 8:51.26.
HENDERSON SWEEPS SPRINTS AGAIN AT MARSHALL
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Greg Henderson continued his excellent indoor season by sweeping the 60 and 200-meter dashes to lead VMI track and field at the Chipotle Marshall Invitational, which wrapped up Saturday in Huntington, W.Va.
Henderson, the current SoCon Athlete of the Month in men's indoor track and field, prevailed in a meet record time of 6.83 seconds in the 60 and 22.08 seconds in the 200. He has now won four consecutive finals after also sweeping these events in the Citadel dual, and has posted IC4A qualifying times in both events in each of his three meets this season. Henderson continues to rank in the top 133 athletes in NCAA in the 60.
Henderson was not the only victor Saturday, as Lee Warren won the 60 hurdles in 8.20. Desmond Weinberg-Jones finished 4th in that event in 8.64 seconds, and was also fifth in the open 400 in 50.61. Kevin Bishop was sixth in the 400 (50.67) and fifth in the 200 behind Henderson (22.77), while Rohan Martin earned the best finish of his young collegiate track career by placing seventh in the 60 (7.21).
In the throwing events, Grant Sanchez finished sixth in the shot put with a best effort of 14.94 meters (49'0 1/4").
On the women's side, Mia McClain finished fifth in the 60-meter dash, edging Bria Anderson (7.76/sixth) and Kerisha Goode (7.77/seventh). McClain also earned a top-seven finish in the long jump, finishing seventh with a 5.50 meter (18'0 1/2") effort.
Other top women's results included Goode placing fifth in the 200 (25.32), Yaa Agyepong Wiafe crossing the line eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.02) and Julia Logan clearing 1.60 meters (5'3") in the high jump.
"Greg Henderson has been fantastic this indoor season," said VMI's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Darrin Webb. "We are certainly excited to see what he can do during the championship portion of our schedule in a few weeks. Lee Warren has been quietly outstanding as well, coming back from surgery, and Desmond Weinberg-Jones continues to take steps forward. For the women's team today, Mia McClain performed especially well, including a fifth-place result in the 60 dash. We are excited to continue to progress toward the championship portion of our schedule"
VMI track and field will return to action Feb. 17, when the teams open competition at the Virginia Tech Invite in Blacksburg.
WOFFORD COMPETES AT SAMFORD INVITATIONAL
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Wofford College men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams continued the season at the Samford Open on Friday and Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Five school records were set in the meet, three by the men and two by the women.
On Friday night, McLeod Dean set a new school record in the 200 meters at 25.18 to finish ninth overall. Gaston Hayworth was seventh in the weight throw with a distance of 15.45 meters. Bosco Bapoupeleh was the top Wofford finisher in the men’s 200 meters at 22.80.
For the men on Saturday, Bosco Bapoupeleh ran the 60 meters in 7.12 and Conrad Heinrich went 8.78 in the 60 meter hurdles. Joe Harbacevich had a 4:23.49 in the mile, while Bradford Smith broke the school record in the 400 meters with a time of 50.63. Cisco Ferre added a school record in the 3,000 meters at 8:48.29, eclipsing the previous mark of 9:01.80 set in 2013. Ferre also was eighth overall in the 800 meters at 1:57.74. Omar Mingo went 6.12 meters in the long jump. Longinus Nnodim threw the shot 13.28 meters, while William Stout set a new school record in the pole vault at 4.10 meters.
The women on Saturday were led by LeAndrea Combo and Kassidy Morton in the 400 meters. Combo’s time of 58.18 and Morton’s 58.61 were both under the previous school mark of 58.84. McLeod Dean ran the 60 meters at 7.97 and Amber Lust had a 9.50 in the 60 meter hurdles. Anya Bunao ran the mile in 5:19.43 and Taryn Schoen was ninth overall in the 3000 meters at 10:29.69. Mary Stewart Wilson ran the 800 meters in 2:20.29 for 15th place. Kasey Widmyer went 4.80 meters in the long jump and Emily Williams threw the shot 9.06 meters. The 4x400 relay was eighth overall.
The teams will next compete at the Southern Conference Championships on February 25 and 26 in Johnson City, Tennessee.