April 8, 2007

NC State Track Picks up More NCAA Regional Qualifying Marks

Raleigh, N.C. - The NC State track and field squads split up again this past weekend and sent athletes to two different meets. Some went to North Carolina A&T to compete in the Aggie Relays, while others went to Durham to take part in the Duke Invitational. The men's throwers brought home a pair of NCAA Regional qualifying marks, while the women's side recorded one in the 1,500 meters.

At the Duke Invite, NC State's men's team had two NCAA Regional marks. In the shot put, Mitchell Pope recorded his fourth NCAA Regional qualifying mark in as many meets. Pope easily won the shot put with a top heave of 61'02.25", giving him four wins on four tries for the outdoor season. Also in the shot put, Chris Crawford placed second (51'11.75") and Jason Jones was third (51'08.50"). Crawford recorded his own NCAA Regional qualifying mark, as he also finished second in the hammer with a season-best toss of 187'09".

Clemson Men's Track & Field Claims Clemson Invitational Title

Clemson, SC - The men's track & field team posted eight regional-qualifying marks and took first place in the Clemson Invitational on Saturday at a cold and windy Rock Norman Outdoor Complex. The Tigers totaled 71 points and won 10 event titles. Appalachian State was runner-up with 48 total points.

The 4x100m relay team of Travis Padgett, Corey Brown, C.J. Spiller, and Jacoby Ford posted the top time this season for Clemson. A red-shirt sophomore, Brown broke away from a pack to give the Tigers the lead for good. The team won with a time of 39.78 in their first-ever action together.

Lady Tigers Claim Clemson Invitational Title on Saturday

Clemson, SC - The women's track & field team won the Clemson Invitational on Saturday at the Rock Norman Outdoor Complex. Despite cold, windy conditions, the Lady Tigers prevailed as a team with 79.5 points. Western Carolina was runner-up with 49. Clemson posted a regional-qualifying mark in the high hurdles and won seven event titles Saturday.

Ra'Sheena Parker had a personal best in the 100m dash, winning with a time of 11.91. Kristine Scott was third with a time of 12.00, also a personal best. The 4x100m relay team claimed a first-place finish with a time of 46.73. Scott ran a strong anchor leg to help the Lady Tigers hold off Western Carolina.

Jackets Get Top Marks at Tiger Classic

AUBURN, Ala. - Steve Marcelle set a personal-best and NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 178 feet, 6 inches in the men's discus to lead the Georgia Tech men's track and field team at the Tiger Classic on Saturday in Auburn, Ala.

Marcelle, a redshirt freshman from Green Bay, Wis., had the fourth-best throw in school history to finish first in the discus. Marcelle then place second in the shot put with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 58 feet, 3 ¼ inches. Sophomore Andy Powlen placed eighth in the discus with a mark of 144 feet, 5 inches.

Multiple Qualifying Marks at Tiger Classic for No. 21 Georgia Tech

AUBURN, Ala. - Ashlee Kidd ran a personal-best and NCAA Regional qualifying time of 59.53 in the women's 400-meter hurdles to lead the No. 21 Georgia Tech women's track and field team at the Tiger Classic on Saturday in Auburn, Ala.

Kidd, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., also ran a leg of the 4x100-meter relay team, which qualified for the NCAA Regional with a time of 45.34. She has now met NCAA Regional qualifying standards in five different races this outdoor season. She has previously qualified in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash.

Hokies wrap up weekend competition

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech outdoor track and field team wrapped up its tri-meet weekend action on Saturday by competing in a handful of events. The sprinters and throwers were at the Texas Relays, the distance crew was at the Duke Invitational, and the pole vaulters were at the Clemson Invitational.

Men's shot putter Justin Clickett highlighted the Hokies' day in Austin by tossing a regional qualifying mark of 17.92m (58'9.5") to place second in the 'A' section. Tech has now met the regional standards on 30 occasions on the young outdoor season.

Five Blue Devils Qualify For Postseason In Final Day Of Duke Invitational

DURHAM, N.C. --- The second day of the Duke Invitational was filled with much success for the Blue Devils as five performers qualified for the postseason and four marks made the top five all-time records' lists. In addition, two Blue Devils won their events at the meet, bringing Duke's first place finishes to four for the weekend.

Women's: Sophomore Michelle Seibert ran a 2:10.88 in the 800 meters on Saturday afternoon, which won her the event for the second weekend in a row. It also qualified her for the ECAC Championships for the second time this season.

Anwah, Berger Post Regional Marks At Duke Invitational

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland track and field traveled to Durham, N.C. this weekend for the Duke/Asics Invitational held at Duke University's Wallace Wade Stadium. Competition wrapped up Saturday with several top Maryland performances.

Junior Jillian Anwah (Centreville, Va.) had a season best and NCAA Regional-qualifying mark of 157-8 in the discus throw to finish in fourth place. Senior Zakiya Shivers (Baltimore, Md.) posted an ECAC-qualifying mark of 144-0 to finish in tenth. Junior Aysha Gregory (Wilmington, Del.) had a season-best mark of 137-8 in the event.

Montague Runner-Up In Javelin At Texas Relays

AUSTIN, TEXAS --- Sophomore Adam Montague launched a 232-8 throw to earn second-place in the men's javelin Saturday at the 80th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at at Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium. The mark - a new personal best and the second-farthest throw in the ACC this year - improves the NCAA regional qualifying mark Montague set just last week. It also gives him the third-best throw in the entire nation this year, trailing only tosses by UNC teammate and 2006 national champion Justin Ryncavage and the man who bested him Saturday, Chris Hill from McNeese St.

On the women's side, Kelly Fazekas added another strong showing in the throws for UNC. She placed seventh in the women's shot put for the Tar Heels, recording a 47-5 toss.

UNC Led By White's Title At Duke Invitational

DURHAM, N.C. --- Jocelyn White added to her ACC-best and NCAA regional qualifying mark in winning the women's discus at the Duke Invitational held Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium. White heaved a 173-0 toss to claim the crown, and Riana Lynn joined her in the top five, putting forth a season-best 157-6 effort to achieve a regional qualifying standard herself.

Carolina also put three runners in the top six in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Addie Bracy and Laura Cummings finished second and third, running 10:35.37 and 10:35.99 times, respectively. Cummings' time gave her an NCAA regional qualifying mark, while Bracy set a new career-best in improving her regional mark set in the season opener. Morgan Stengel added a personal-best 10:57.74 in finishing sixth.

Deacon Relay Teams Impress at Duke Invitational

The Wake Forest men's and women's track and field teams finished up the Duke Invitational on Saturday with a flurry of victories in the relay events. The Deacs carded wins in both the men's 4x100-meter relay as well as the 4x800-meter relay to end the meet on a positive note.

The 4x100m team of Kevin Marion, Eric Seely, Michael Bingham and Tyler Dodds won the race in a time of 40.83. The result was barely off of the regional-qualifying standard of 40.66.

Freezing Rain Interrupts Final Day Of Texas Relays

Tallahassee, FL - The weather in the final day of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays was not a typical spring day as freezing temperatures and constant rain interrupted many events, including the finals of the men's 100-meter dash, at the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium in Austin, TX.

While the men's 100-meter finals did not take place due to the weather, sprints coach Ken Harnden chose to not take any chances with his athletes' health and they did not compete in the relays today.

Seminoles Sweep Up Regional Marks At Texas Relays

Tallahassee, FL - The Florida State track and field teams are stretched out across the nation this weekend, competing at the Texas Relays in Austin and the Florida Relays in Gainesville. After three days of competition in Texas, six individuals and two relay teams have met regional marks for the Seminoles.

The unstoppable 4x100 meter relay team of senior Greg Bolden (Morrow, GA/Albany State), junior Walter Dix (Coral Springs, FL/Coral Springs), sophomore Michael Ray Garvin (Upper Saddle River, NJ/Don Bosco Prep), and freshman Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, VA) ran a national-leading 39.24 in the prelims, improving on their regional qualifying time of 39.55 which was set at the Disney Track and Field Invite on March 24.

Miami Completes Action at Florida Relays

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The second and final day of the 2007 Pepsi Florida Relays saw the University of Miami men's 4x800-meter relay team finish second overall at the University of Florida's Percy Beard Track.

The Hurricanes 4x800-meter relay - consisting of juniors Tim Harris and Richard Bernard and sophomores Ryan Woodlee and Patrick O'Donnell - topped all collegiate competitors and finished second overall with a time of 7:38.32.

Faluade Breaks UM Record at Florida Relays

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Senior Brenda Faluade's school record breaking performance in the long jump highlighted the days events for the University of Miami women's track and field teams Friday at the 2007 Pepsi Florida Relays held at the University of Florida.

En route to winning the women's long jump, Faluade reached a mark of 6.53 meters to top former Hurricane Gina Harris previous UM record of 6.44 meters set May 3, 2003.

Virginia Steeplers Qualify for NCAA Regionals

Virginia's Jan Foerster and Stephanie Garcia both hit NCAA Regional qualifying marks in the steeplechase today at the Duke Relays, with Foerster finishing second in the men's race while Garcia took fourth in the women's. Garcia's race was the first steeple of her collegiate career and moved her up to fourth all-time in Virginia history.

Janne'a Bridgeford ran a 12.06 and won the 100 in a photo finish, and then she helped the Cavaliers win the 4x100m relay with a 47.24. She qualified for the ECAC Championships with her 100 time, as did the 4x100m relay. Talia Wise took fifth in the dash with her 12.37 and was also a part of the winning relay. Keshia Ashe finished fourth in the high hurdles, running a 14.70.

Billie-Jo Grant Qualifies for NCAA Regionals

Virginia's Erin Crawford battled both a tough lane assignment and a wintry mix to take third in the intermediate hurdles, running her fastest time of the season, 58.40. Crawford was in lane 1 and was able to overcome both the tight turns and a sub-freezing temperature to notch the sixth-fastest time in the nation this season. Along the way, she defeated two finalists from the NCAA finals a year ago to take third in a star-studded field of competitors.

Billie-Jo Grant hit the NCAA Regional qualifying mark with her 14.40m (47' 3") and finished eighth overall. She has now qualified for the regional meet in both the discus and the shot put. Tomika Ferguson took fourth in the triple jump, hitting a 39' 11.5" while it was sleeting.