Feb. 25, 2006

Saturday Results

2006 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships

BLACKSBURG, Va. - After 34 total events and ten championship meet records, the Miami women and Florida State men captured the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship at the Rector Field House on the campus of Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon.

The Hurricanes, under the direction of Amy Deem, won their second straight ACC indoor title accumulating 117 points. North Carolina finished in second place with 96 points, followed in third by the Florida State Seminoles with 81 points. The Virginia Tech Hokies tallied 70 points to finish in fourth, while Georgia Tech (67.50) and NC State (58.83) placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Rounding out spots seven through 12 were Maryland (46.50), Duke (43), Virginia (39.50), Wake Forest (18), Clemson (15) and Boston College (10.67).

On the men's side, Florida State captured its fourth consecutive indoor title and fifth overall under the tutelage of head coach Bob Braman. The Seminoles tallied 160.50 points to finish in first, while Clemson placed second with 95 points. Spots three through seven were determined by just 12 points as North Carolina finished in third with 64 points. Virginia Tech was fourth (60), Wake Forest fifth (56), Virginia sixth (55) and NC State seventh with 52 points. Rounding out spots eight through 12 were Georgia Tech (39), Miami (36), Maryland (29), Duke (8.5) and Boston College (7).

Day three of competition kicked started with the men's mile run. Florida State's Tom Lancashire successfully defended his title in the event crossing the finish line in first in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:04.36. Virginia grabbed the next three positions as Alex Tatu (4:09.00), Kevin McHale (4:09.69) and Andrew Jesien (4:09.94) placed second, third and fourth, respectively.

In the women's mile run, freshman Brianna Felnagle posted a personal best time of 4:45.23 to win the event. Florida State's Natalie Hughes finished less than a second behind Felnagle in a time of 4:46.22, while Jemissa Hess placed third at 4:47.66. Both marks by Felnagle and Hughes provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship.

The Seminoles' Garrett Johnson reclaimed the men's shot title establishing a Rector Field House and ACC meet record with his winning throw of 66-02.75 (20.17m). The throw by the junior from Tampa, Fla., was an NCAA automatic qualifying and season-best mark. Senior Vikas Gowda had a season-best throw of 63-02.00 (19.25m), meeting NCAA provisional qualifying standards, to finish second. Rounding out medalist honors in the men's shot put was NC State's Mitchell Pope who had a season-best throw of 62-01.25 (18.93m) to place third.

North Carolina's Sheena Gordon became just the fifth athlete to clear 6-02.00 (1.88m) in the women's high jump at the ACC Indoor Championship en route to earning her first indoor title. The jump by Gordon met NCAA automatic qualifying standards, while claiming the top spot in the ACC in 2006. Duke's Debra Vento cleared 5-11.25 (1.81m) and Miami's Viktoria Andonova jumped 5-08.75 (1.75m) to finish in second and third, respectively.

In the men's 60m hurdles, Maryland's Dominic Berger registered the Terrapins first win in the event in Indoor Championship history crossing the finish line in a provisional time of 7.80. Lance Leggett of Miami placed second in the event in a time of 7.89 and Roy Cheney of Clemson earned the bronze medal with a time of 7.94.

NC State's Ebony Foster shattered the ACC meet championship record in the women's 60m hurdles winning the event in a time of 8.07. It was Foster's second win in the event in the last three years, while eclipsing the previous meet record of 8.12 set back in 1999 by Andria King of Georgia Tech. The mark sits as the fastest recorded in the league this season, automatically qualifying her for the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Georgia Tech placed second and third as Fatmata Fofanah just edged teammate Shantia Moss by three one-thousandths of a second. Fatmata recorded a time of 8.215, while Moss crossed the finish line in 8.218.

Florida State's Ricardo Chambers successfully defended his title in the men's 400m dash. The sophomore from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. finished first in a time of 45.93, breaking the meet record that held true since 1992 when North Carolina's Reggie Harris ran 45.94. Chambers also became just the fifth two-time winner in the 400m in league history. Virginia's Kellen Blassingame took second place in a time of 46.73, while Eric Seely of Wake Forest placed third (47.43).

In the women's 400m dash, junior sprinter Ashlee Kidd notched her second win in the event in the last three years breaking the meet championship record with her time of 52.61. Miami's Ginou Etienne and Virginia Tech's Sherlenia Green finished second and third, respectively with times of 53.68 and 53.79. All three times recorded met NCAA provisional qualifying standards.

Rafeeq Curry of Florida State won his fourth straight men's triple jump title posting a provisional jump of 52-08.00 (16.05m) to win the event. It was the seventh straight victory for the Seminoles in this event. The Yellow Jackets' Jerome Miller placed second with a jump of 48-10.25 (14.89m). North Carolina's Britt Taylor earned All-Conference honors with a mark of 48-09.00 (14.86m) to finish in third.

Florida State won its second straight 60m dash title as junior Greg Bolden crossed the finish line in a provisional time of 6.69. Travis Padgett and Corey Brown went two, three as they recorded times of 6.74 and 6.78, respectively to pace Clemson.

Andriane Lapsley of Georgia Tech successfully defended her title in the women's 60m dash registering a time of 7.37. The time sits as the fastest recorded by Lapsley in 2006 and tops in the ACC. It's the Yellow Jackets' fifth win in nine years. Miami's India Ransom finished second in a time of 7.41, while teammate Chinela Davis placed third at 7.45.

Tim Harris claimed the Hurricanes' first indoor individual title on the men's side capturing the 800m run. Harris posted a provisional qualifying time of 1:49.12 to win the event. Clay Ragan of North Carolina finish second (1:50.21) and Florida State's Tommy Noyes placed third (1:51.50).

North Carolina swept the top three spots in the women's 800m as Georgia Kloss, Brianna Felnagle and Danielle Rodgers finished one, two, three. Kloss finished the race in a personal best time of 2:06.47, tops in the ACC. Felnagle earned her second medal of the championship as she finished right behind Kloss in a time of 2:06.71. Rodgers came in third crossing the finish line in a time of 2:08.61. It was the fifth 800m win for the Tar Heels in the last six years and ninth overall.

The Seminoles continued their winning ways as Ricardo Chambers posted a first place finish in the men's 200m dash. Chambers recorded a personal best and ACC top time of 21.13 for his second event title of the afternoon. It was Florida State's third straight win in the 200m dash. Michael Bingham of Wake Forest (21.15) and David Clowney (21.52) of Virginia Tech placed second and third, respectively.

Junior Ashlee Kidd set another ACC meet championship record as she crossed the finish line in first in the women's 200m dash. Kidd's time of 23.37 surpassed the previous record set by fellow Yellow Jacket Cydonie Mothersill of 23.43 in 2001. The junior sprinter became just the second Yellow Jacket to win the 200m in league history. Miami rounded out medalist honors with Charlette Greggs in second (23.48) and Dominique Darden in third (23.70).

In the men's pole vault competition, Clemson's Mitch Greeley cleared a personal best height of 17-07.00 (5.36m), the third highest mark in indoor championship history and highest since Jeff Bray of Florida State vaulted a meet record 18-00.50 (5.50m) in 1993. The Hokies took the next two spots as 2005 champion Brian Mondschein placed second with a clear of 17-04.50 (5.30m), while teammate Joe Samaniuk finished third at 17-00.75 (5.20m).

Andrew Lemoncello successfully defended his title in the men's 3000m as he picked up his second gold medal of the championship. Lemoncello won the event in a time of 8:10.97, claiming the third straight title for the Seminoles in the 3K. NC State's Tibor Vegh would follow in second place in a time of 8:15.80. Sean Stevens of Wake Forest registered a third place finish in a time of 8:16.30.

North Carolina's Laura Gerraughty became the third three-time champion in the women's shot put breaking her own meet record with a mark of 61-11.00 (18.87m) to finish in first. The mark was a season-high for Gerraughty automatically qualifying her for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Wake Forest's Lindsay Neuberger placed second (50-10.00, 15.49m) followed in third place by Miami's Khadija Talley (50-06.25, 15.40m).

Duke won its second consecutive women's 3,000m run as senior Clara Horowitz took the gold medal in a provisional qualifying time of 9:23.85. Florida State freshman Susan Kuijken placed second in a time of 9:28.97, while NC State's Jemissa Hess crossed the finish line in third at 9:34.93.

In the women's triple jump competition, junior Tabia Charles was victories leaping 44-02.00 (13.46m). Georgia Tech's Brandy Depland finished in second establishing a mark of 43-08.50 (13.32m), while the Hurricanes' Brenda Faluade placed third (43-07.25, 13.29m).

For the first time in league history, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons claimed the men's 4x400m relay. The team of Michael Bingham, Brent LaRue, Willie Idlette and Eric Seely finished in a provisional time of 3:10.99. On the women's side, Miami won its second straight 4x400m relay breaking last year's meet record set by the Hurricanes. The team of Ginou Etienne, Charlette Greggs, Krista Simkins and Ena Leufroy finished the race in a time of 3:38.40, setting a new league championship record.

Final Men's Standings (After 17 Events Scored)
1) Florida State, 160.50
2) Clemson, 95
3) North Carolina, 64
4) Virginia Tech, 60
5) Wake Forest, 56
6) Virginia, 55
7) NC State, 52
8) Georgia Tech, 39
9) Miami, 36
10) Maryland, 29
11) Duke, 8.50
12) Boston College, 7

Final Women's Standings (After 17 Events Scored)
1) Miami, 117
2) North Carolina, 96
3) Florida State, 81
4) Virginia Tech, 70
5) Georgia Tech, 67.50
6) NC State, 58.83
7) Maryland, 46.50
8) Duke, 43
9) Virginia, 39.50
10) Wake Forest, 18
11) Clemson, 15
12) Boston College, 10.66

-ACC-