March 28, 2009

Florida State Concludes Last Day Of FSU Relays
The Florida State track and field teams concluded the last day of competition at the Mike Long Track. Despite severe weather conditions that caused the 30th annual FSU Relays to be changed throughout the four day meet, the Seminoles were able to prevail past the distractions and have a fantastic showing.

Sophomore Michael Putnam (Miami, Fla.) is looking to be one of the most consistent Seminoles as he continued his reign on the field. Putnam opened up the day for FSU in the men’s discus throw as he captured first place and earned another regional mark with his throw of 54.25m/178-00. Junior Shariff Small (Kingston, Jamaica) had a good showing in the discus as he placed third with a mark of 45.76m/ 150-01.

Men’s relay squads dominated the opposition in the 4x100m relay. The men’s quartet made up of Michael Ray Garvin (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), Brandon Byram (Gallatin, Tenn.), Maurice Mitchell (Kansas City, Mo.) and Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, Va.) blew past the competition with their first-place time of 39.56. The time now stands as the top performance in the nation.

Garcia Wins Steeplechase, Regionally Qualifies
The Virginia track and field team tacked on three more NCAA Regional qualifiers on Saturday at the Raleigh Relays, while the Cavaliers were also victorious in three events.

Junior Stephanie Garcia won the 3000m steeplechase in an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10:23.68 to lead the squad on the day, while Virginia’s men’s and women’s 4x800m relay teams each claimed first-place finishes in their respective races. The men teamed for a finish of 7:28.26, while the women crossed the line in 8:52.69.

Junior Meghan Briggs and freshman Tara Karin each qualified for the NCAA Regional meet in the javelin. Briggs claimed runner-up honors in the event with a throw of 150’, while Karin threw 143’ 2”.

Pryor regionally qualifies in hammer throw
Brittany Pryor regionally qualified in the hammer throw at the Weems Baskins Relays in Columbia, S.C., and the Hokies distance runners performed well at the Fred Hardy Invitational in Richmond, Va., on Saturday to round out a successful weekend for Virginia Tech track and field.

Pryor, who did not compete in the indoor season, started her 2009 campaign strongly with a first-place showing in the hammer throw. The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native tossed a regional-qualifying 184-03 to outdistance the runner-up finisher by over 20 feet. Pryor is the first Virginia Tech athlete on the season to regionally qualify.

The Hokies swept the 3,000-meter dashes, earning victories in meet-record fashion in both the men’s and women’s race. Senior Erin Reddan raced a 9:45.50 to capture the women’s 3,000-meters, while freshman Will Mulherin, competing in his first collegiate outdoor meet, clocked an 8:18.18 for the win. Freshman Brian Welch came in just behind Mulherin, finishing second with a time of 8:18.52, and freshman Michael Hammond earned fifth clocking in at 8:25.15.

Ivy Shines Again At Raleigh Relays
A day after running the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 100-meter hurdles Vanneisha Ivy posted an even better number on Saturday as she ran the third-fastest time when she clocked a 13.24 at the Raleigh Relays. Also tallying regional marks on the final day of the Raleigh Relays were both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay squads. The Tar Heels will head to four different sites next week in the second weekend of competition in the outdoor season.

The women's 4x100-meter relay squad posted a time of 45.43 for a second place finish. The group running the 4x400 one-upped the 4x100 squad as they claimed a first place showing running the 1600 meters in 3:40.69, winning by nearly five seconds over Virginia. The men's 4x400 relay team finished 10th overall when they ran a 3:13.75.

Freshman Alex Cramer posted a top 10 finish in the 1500 section II as he clocked a 4:01.88, while senior Jeremy Hyder placed 22nd in the first section with a time of 3:58.22. 

Wake Forest Track & Field Wraps Up A Soggy Weekend
The men's 4x400-meter relay team closed out a wet weekend for the Wake Forest track & field team by qualifying for the NCAA regionals at the Raleigh Relays Saturday afternoon.

The team of Brent LaRue, Allan Lunkenheimer, Jon Reid and Michael Bingham crossed the line with a time of 3:05.98, which was just over four seconds under the regional qualifying time of 3:10.00. However, the team from St. Augustines clipped the Deacs at the line with a time of 3:05.95.

The women's 4x200-meter relay team of Melissa Council, Alex Gove, Lily Kessinger and Katelyn Wohlford also turned in a great performance, setting the school-record with a time of 1:39.51 to finish seventh.

Young Hurricanes Show Their Stuff at UCF Invitational
The University of Miami track and field teams, featuring many first and second year student-athletes competed in the second and final day of the UCF Invitational at the UCF Track and Field Complex.

Of the 25 competitors that traveled to Orlando this weekend, 17 were in their first or second years at the University of Miami.

For the second straight week, freshman Devon Hill had an impressive performance in the 110-meter hurdles. Hill was the second collegiate performer to cross the line with a time 14.37, an improvement over his time recorded at the Hurricane Invitational. In his first collegiate showing in the 400-meter hurdles, the Trenton, N.J. native placed fifth with a time of 56.72.

Duke’s Middle Distance Relays Strong In Raleigh
The Duke men’s 4x800-meter relay team took second place and sophomore pole vaulter Amy Fryt won her event for the second weekend in a row as the Blue Devils track & field squads closed out the 2009 Raleigh Relays at N.C. State’s Paul Derr Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The relay finished second behind the University of Virginia with a fast time of 7:30.16. Stephen Clark led off in 1:54.1 as Duke was in fourth after the first two laps, handing off to Chris Rowland who came through in 1:51.2 and moved Duke up to second. Cory Nanni took the baton next and completed his leg in 1:51.0 while giving Duke the lead, and Ryan McDermott closed it out with a 1:53.7, just giving UVA back the lead as the Blue Devils took second and posted an IC4A qualifier in the process. The Blue Devils split the two big relays with the Cavaliers, winning the 4x1500 yesterday while UVA took second in that event.

Fryt won the pole vault early in the day as she cleared 12-3.5, good for an ECAC qualifier.

Terps Have Nine First-Place Finishes at Maryland Invitational
Nine Terrapin athletes captured first-place finishes at the 2009 Maryland Invitational Outdoor Track and Field meet at Kehoe Track Complex today.

Leading the women to a strong start in the first event of the day, Kristin Reed placed first in the steeplechase finishing with a season-best time of 11:05.45 and earning 10 points for the Terps. Freshman Ashley Hendrix tied for first place in the long jump, jumping a career-best 17-11.5. Tiffani Long also placed in the event, coming in third jumping 17-04.

In the women's 4x100 meter relay, Chanel Williams, Alexis Booker, DeAnna Brown and D'Ambour Lewis ran a collective 47.57 to place second in the event.

Blackmon Sets Career-High in 800m
Angelina Blackmon notched a personal-best with a NCAA regional qualifying mark in the 800m on Saturday at the 2009 Reebok Raleigh Relays.

Blackmon ran a 2:07.58 to finish second in the event on a rainy day at Paul Derr Track on NC State's campus.

Her younger sister, Tiayonna, was 13th in the same race with a 2:13.87 - her career-best.