Track & Field ACCtion: Weekend of January 25-26
ACC track and field athletes post strong showing at various invitationals this weekend.



Jan. 27, 2008

Eagles Earn Top Performances At Reebok Boston Indoor Games

BOSTON, Mass. - The Boston College men and women's indoor track teams competed in their second team-scoring event at the Boston Reebok Indoor Games on Friday, with the women placing first out of ten (170.66 points) and the men placing fifth out of twelve (67.50 points).

Highlighting the day's competition were five first-place finishes by the women. Sophomore Caitlin Bailey excelled in the 500 meter dash, placing first with a time of 1:13.92, placing her third on BC's all-time top performance list. Junior Mallory Champa clocked the fastest mile-run in the ACC this season with her time of 4:54.27. Freshman Caroline King ran the 1000 meter in 2:46.89. Her time placed her second on BC's top-performance list for the event. Sophomore Brielle Chabot clocked a 10:01.75 in the 3000, third-fastest in the ACC. The distance medley relay team that consisted of sophomore Jessica Driscoll, sophomore Gretchen Andrus, King and Champa raced to the team's final first place finish and the ACC's top-time of 11:45.73.


Miller Moss Claims Heptathlon Title at JRF Multi-Event Challenge

CLEMSON, S.C. - Miller Moss fell just short of an NCAA qualifying mark, but scored enough points to win the heptathlon title at the JRF Multi-Event Challenge. It marks the first time the heptathlon title has been claimed by a Clemson men's athlete in the five-year history of the meet.

Moss scored 5,184 points over the seven-event competition, just 16 points shy of an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. He also moved into fourth place on Clemson's all-time heptathlon performance list with his point total from this weekend.

The Sumter, S.C. product had personal bests in the 60m hurdles and pole vault before finishing strong with a time of 2:47.14 in the 1000m run. Moss' time in the high hurdles was 8.95, seventh-best among the competitors. He again showed his ability to battle after clearing two pole vault heights on his final attempt. He eventually ended up with a personal best clearance of 14'1.25".


FSU Sets One Automatic And Two Provisional NCAA Marks In Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Deep in rival territory at the University of Florida's Tom Jones Memorial Classic, Florida State's track and field squads demonstrated why they have one of the top-ranked recruiting classes in the country. In just the second meet of the indoor season, freshman Kim Williams automatically qualified in the triple jump for the NCAA Indoor Championships while fellow freshman Ngonidzashe Makusha provisionally qualified in the long jump. Florida State's 4x400m women's relay team also picked up a provisional qualifying mark today, Jan. 26, in Gainesville, Fla.

In her third collegiate attempt at the triple jump, Williams took earned herself a spot as the top women's triple jumper this season with a first-place leap of 44'0.7" for an automatic bid to the national indoor meet in March and a spot at No. 3 in Florida State's all-time triple jump records.

Makusha also made a promising debut as he unleashed a 25'8.7" leap on his first long jump attempt, picking up a provisional qualifying mark and tying for the top long jump spot in the nation this season. In addition, Makusha's powerful jump also earned him a place at No. 3 on Florida State's all-time long jump list.


Duke Runners Complete A Big Weekend In Boston

BOSTON, Mass. - Duke's indoor track squad had several strong performances in Boston at the Terrier Classic on Friday and Saturday. At Boston University's Track and Tennis Center, 10 individual Blue Devils and three relay teams qualified for the postseason and one Duke record was broken.

Most of the women's events took place on Friday afternoon and evening, and senior captain Allison Stankavage started off Duke's success at the meet in the 500m. Stankavage ran the event in a time of 1:15.65 and placed fourth, qualifying her for the ECAC's in March.

The men's only event on Friday was a good one, as the distance medley relay team of senior captain John Brockardt, senior captain Matt Danforth, senior Peter Lewellen and freshman Cory Nanni won the event in a time of 10:01.40. It marked the second straight year the Duke won the DMR at the Terrier Classic and qualified the quartet for the IC4A's in March.


Walker, Berger lead Terps at Penn State National Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Anthony Walker placed second in the 500 meters and qualified for the IC4A Championships to lead Maryland performances at the Penn State National Open this weekend.

Walker's time of 1:04.44 came in his first career performance in the event.

Teammate Dominic Berger posted a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with an IC4A-qualifying time of 7.93. Adam Durham placed seventh in the same event, coming in at 8.08.

In the 1,000 meters, Zach Martinez and Tommy Friscia both posted career-best and IC4A-qualifying times. Martinez had a third-place finish with a time of 2:29.26 and Friscia placed fourth running a 2:29.29.

On the women's side, Christina Nelson had a fifth-place finish in the mile with a time of 5:05.22, followed by teammate Erin Matyus, who placed sixth with a time of 5:06.37. Teammate Lindsay Ritchings followed the duo, placing eighth with a time of 5:13.38.


Virginia's Kathleen Darraugh Vaults to No. 2 All-Time in Pole Vault

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Virginia's Kathleen Darraugh and Janine Ricci both won their individual events at the On Track Invitational held at Liberty University today in Lynchburg, Va. Darraugh's vault of 11' 9.75" was not only a career-high but also moved her into a tie for No. 2 in school history. Ricci ran a 3:03.50 in the 1000m run to take top honors. Cavalier alumna Dawn Cromer was a double winner today, taking the gold in both the mile and the 3000m run.

Cromer led a Virginia contingent that finished 2-4-6 in the 3000. US Junior national champion Stephanie Garcia finished right behind Cromer, running 9:47.52. Samantha Stafford ran a 10:20.22 to take fourth, while Jen Dolson ran 10:32.88 to finish sixth. On the men's side, the Cavaliers went 2-3-5 as Graham Tribble ran 8:38.15, just nipping Will Williams, who ran 9:38.83 to take third. James Erickson finished fifth, running 8:41.38. Suzanne Ginnow took fifth in the mile, finishing fourth in 5:09.87.