Jeannelle Scheper Sets New School Record In NYC
NEW YORK CITY – South Carolina sophomore Jeannelle Scheper broke the school record in the high jump that she initially claimed just three weeks ago to lead South Carolina in the final day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in uptown Manhattan.
Scheper slowly outlasted a field of 15 in the high jump, and her clearance at 5’10 ¾ (1.80m) made her just one of three women remaining in the event. The bar then was moved to 6’0 (1.83m), one centimeter higher than her previous school record mark set exactly three weeks ago in the season opener at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Scheper responded by clearing the bar on her third attempt, letting out a cheer that was drowned out by the cheers of her teammates spread throughout The Armory track center.
“I felt really good because six feet has been a goal of mine for a long time,” Scheper said. “It gets you closer to qualifying for NCAA’s, so I was really happy with my performance.”
She is now one of seven women to ever clear 6’0 in the women’s high jump in the 11-year history of the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Scheper’s mark puts her in a tie for fourth on the NCAA list this season with only five weekends remaining before bids are handed out for the NCAA Indoor Championships that will be held in Nampa, Idaho. Her steady improvement has her coaches encouraged that Scheper can continue to work hard and earn a berth in the field as just a sophomore.
“I was telling one of my teammates that it really helps when they cheer,” Scheper said. “It really helps me. It makes me realize that people are actually paying attention.”
Redshirt sophomore Dorian Johnson began the day with a runner-up finish and season best mark of 48’8 ¼ (14.84m) in the triple jump to get things started off on the right foot for the Gamecocks. Johnson came one centimeter away from winning the event on his final jump of the day.
“It was a little bit less competitive than last year,” Johnson said. “I’m starting to get into the swing of things. I felt a little more comfortable coming down the runway and executing proper technique. That’s part of the reason I’m doing so well. We’re starting to hit our championship season, so there’s a lot of anxiety, and I think they played a role in how I jumped.”
Marvin Reitze took second among collegians in the men’s pole vault championships with a top clearance of 17’4 ½ (5.30m). Reitze has placed first or second in every meet this season.
“We had a great performance out of Marvin (Reitze) and a great one out of Jeannelle,” South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. “Jeannelle set a school record again, so that’s big for us. Our mile relays both stepped up and had good runs, and we had substitutes on them, which is good indication of where we can be. We can see places where we can score some points in the conference meet now. We’ve seen everyone in the league, so now we can make assessments to see how we can get ourselves in the top eight. I’m real happy for our team. As long as they stay positive and keep working, we have to get to the point where they all make contributions. I’m so proud that this is my team. They handled themselves well here in New York.”
Sophomore Chris Royster ran a season best time for the second straight week in the 200-meter dash. Royster won his heat of the championship preliminary section at 21.51 to place seventh overall in the prelims before also finishing seventh in the championship final at 21.52.
Classmate Amber Allen fought her way into the 400-meter championship final with a solid preliminary round in the college section Friday night, and the All-American responded with an eighth-place finish at a season-best time of 56.00.
The men’s 4x200-meter relay team of Chris Maxwell, Damiere Byrd, Chris Walker and Nejmi Burnside cruised to a time of 1:27.71 to place fourth overall in the championship. The women’s 4x200-meter relay team of Christal Green, Ahtyana Johnson, Kelsey McCorkle and Asia Delaney placed fifth overall at 1:38.73.
The 4x400-meter relays took sixth and seventh as the women’s team of Erika Rucker, Nadonnia Rodriques, Tamera Harris and Amber Allen ran a season best 3:38.30, and the men’s team of Clayton Gravesande, Andre Carter, Eric Winfrey and Chris Maxwell ran a season best 3:12.86.
Senior Radiance Basden competed in the women’s triple jump championship and had a best mark of 40’5 (12.32m) to place 13th overall.
Stacee Roberts and Katie Vuckovich both threw season best marks in the women’s weight throw to pace Carolina’s throwers on the second day of competition. Roberts hit a mark of 52’8 (16.05m) and Vuckovich hit a mark of 51’9 ¼ (15.78m), while junior Breanna Radford had a best throw of 51’4 ½ (15.66m) on the day. On the men’s side, Louis Day (15.58m // 51’1 ½) and Andrew Seay (15.51m // 50’10 ¾) both competed, placing 26th and 28th, respectively.
Liz Locke ran a season best time in the 800-meter dash after crossing the line at 2:20.04 in her second race of the weekend. Senior Kelsey McCorkle began the day for the women with a time of 25.11 in the 200-meter dash. Vince DePiano was the first Gamecock on the track Saturday and put up a time of 4:32.65 in the mile run.
“We had great efforts,” Frye said. “That’s all you can ask for. We’re coming along. We’re making mistakes, but you can see signs that we can be pretty good. We’re maybe a year away from great, but we can be pretty good.”
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Gator Track and Field Concludes Weekend with Strong Saturday Showing at Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Gator track and field teams finished the 2012 Virginia Tech Elite Meet on a high note on Saturday, earning five victories, four personal or collegiate bests and an automatic qualifying mark courtesy of junior jumper Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas).
“I’m very pleased with our overall performances today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We’re continuing to improve every weekend and that’s what we want to see.”
Craddock, the nation’s top returning triple jumper, leapt an NCAA-leading 16.34m/53-7.50 on Saturday, earning third place on the afternoon and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
“With Omar, we know there are big things waiting for him and there’s room for improvement,” Holloway said. “For us, that’s exciting.”
The Gators swept the high jump for the third straight meet, as senior Dwight Barbiasz (Milford, N.H.) and freshman Taylor Burke (Medina, Ohio) turned in collegiate-best performances to take the high jump titles. Barbiasz tied his all-time career best with a mark of 2.23m/7-3.75, registering his best indoors performance of his collegiate career and moving to fifth all-time in Florida school history.
Fellow jumper Frankie Hammond (Hollywood, Fla.) came in right behind Barbiasz in second place, clearing an indoor career best 2.18m/7-1.75 and moving to seventh all-time at UF.
“With Dwight, we knew what we were getting when he came here from Maryland,” Holloway said. “He’s an All-American and he’s finally starting to get to where we know he can perform.
“Frankie is starting to get his track legs under him and he’s really getting a chance to improve each day at practice,” Holloway continued.
Burke earned her third straight high jump title with a jump of 1.82m/5-11.50, her collegiate best and a personal best indoors.
“With Taylor, it’s similar to Frankie (being a two-sport athlete), she’s really starting to get her track legs under her,” Holloway noted. “She’s talented and we know there’s more in the tank for her.”
Sophomore sprinter Darshay Davis (Miramar, Fla.) ran an indoor personal best on Saturday, winning the women’s 200 meters with a time of 23.91.
“Darshay is really starting to trust her training, trust the techniques we’re teaching her and her hard work is paying off,” Holloway said.
Junior sprinter Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) earned his second 400-meter title of the weekend after capturing both the men’s 400 meter invitational title on Friday night and the men’s 400 meter open title on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday, McQuay improved from his Friday performance with a time of 47.60. Fellow junior sprinter Jovon Toppin (Port of Spain, Trinidad) finished right behind McQuay with a time of 49.05.
The women’s 4x400 meter relay, comprised of Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.), Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.), Bria Goodson (Orange Park, Fla.) and Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.), earned the fifth victory of the day for the Orange and Blue with a time of 3:35.18, the Gators’ best 4x400 meter time of the season and a victory by more than nine seconds.
“For our women’s 4x400 to get that victory without senior leader Alishea Usery (St. Louis, Mo.), that was huge for them,” Holloway said. “They ran their best time of the season and finished over nine seconds faster than the second place team. That was big.”
Senior thrower Keely Medeiros (Blumenau-SC, Brazil) continues her recovery from injury, throwing a season-best 15.85m/52-0 in the shot put to finish second on the afternoon.
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Momoh wins 800 meters at Meyo Invitational
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On the final day of competition at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind., the No. 1 University of Arkansas men’s track and field team picked up a top-three sweep, led by Leoman Momoh, in the 800 meters and a runner-up performance in the 60-meter hurdles from Caleb Cross. The Meyo Invitational was the Razorbacks’ first road competition of the season.
Running in the invitational sections of the 800 meters, the Razorbacks placed four in the top six including an event win by Momoh. The Arkansas junior finished first in a personal-best time of 1:49.51, his second sub-1:50 effort of the season. Anthony Lieghio crossed the line in 1:49.69, good for second place, and Drew Butler finished in third place with a personal-best 1:49.71. In sixth place, Duncan Phillips clocked in at 1:50.01 to round out the team’s showing in the event.
Cross, having qualified Friday evening for today’s final, ran to a time of 7.88 to notch a second-place result in the 60-meter hurdles. Through the first four competitions of the season, Cross now has one win, two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result.
In the invitational Meyo mile, Omar Abdi was Arkansas’ top performer in the race. He finished the race in a personal-best time of 4:04.65 and finished in eighth place. The time for Abdi is nearly four seconds faster than his previous best. Michael Chinchar posted a season-best 4:09.63 to finish 10th and Patrick Rono, in his first collegiate mile, finished 12th in a time of 4:12.58.
Eric Fernandez made his season debut Saturday in the invitational Ryan Shay 3,000 meters. In his first race since the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, Fernandez posted a time of 8:16.23 to finish in 15th place overall.
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Jumpers and Throwers Lead Alabama Track & Field at the New Balance Collegiate
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The University of Alabama of track and field team was led by its jumpers and throwers this weekend at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Indoor Track.
The Crimson Tide recorded 12 total top 10 finishes with its high jumpers earning three in the two-day event. Krystle Schade won the women’s high jump by clearing 6-0 for the second time this season while Postenea Louisjeune was seventh by clearing 5-7. In the men’s high jump, Tyler Campbell finished fourth with a season-best height of 7-1.75.
UA also got a pair of solid finishes in the women’s weight throw as Amethyst Holmes finished fifth with a throw of 63-7 while Angelica Howard posted another personal best with a mark of 63-2 to finish sixth. In the shot put, Wilamena Hopkins was eighth with a throw of 48-10.75.
The women’s team also got strong performances from its distance runners with Leigh Gilmore and Elsbeth Denton finishing third and sixth, respectively, in the mile. Andrea Torske posted a personal best in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:49.48 to finish fourth.
For the men in the horizontal jumps, Jonathan Reid recorded a mark of 49-1 to finish 13th in the triple jump while Kamal Fuller had a leap of 23-8 in the long jump to finish 12th. Fuller also finished 26th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.16.
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Heymsfield wins 3,000 meters at NBCI
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Grace Heymsfield notched her second victory of the season Saturday with a first-place run at 3,000 meters on the final day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York. In the team standings, the No. 3 University of Arkansas women’s track and field team finished in fifth place with 49 points collected over the two-day competition.
In the Razorbacks’ first event of the day, Heymsfield raced to victory in the college section of the 3,000 meters, crossing the finish in a personal-best time of 9:37.33. The Elkins, Ark., native finished five seconds clear of the second-place runner and shaved more than 15 seconds off her previous-best mark in the event.
Arkansas closed out its New Balance weekend with a fifth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. Running in heat three of the timed final, the team of Gwendolyn Flowers, Whitney Jones, Chrishuna Williams and Regina George combined for a time of 3:36.56. The top-five teams in the 4x400-meter relay were separated by less than one second.
Dominique Scott, in her second race of the indoor season, finished fifth in the college section of the mile. She crossed the line in a time of 4:59.40. In the preliminary heats of the championship section of the 200 meters, Tiffany Hines clocked in at 24.68 to finish in 37th place among all qualifiers. In the team’s lone field result of the day, Tamara Myers finished in 13th place in the triple jump with a day’s best mark of 12.32m/40-5.
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UT’s Price Produces NCAA Auto Mark In 800 Meters
NEW YORK -- Tennessee’s track & field teams closed out their stay at New Balance Collegiate Invitational, getting impressive performances in the distances and sprints, including an NCAA auto mark, Saturday at The Armory in northern Manhattan.
Senior Chanelle Price gave the Lady Volunteers their third event at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships, reeling off an automatic-qualifying time of 2:04.25 in the championship division of the women’s 800 meters. The product of Easton, Pa., wound up third behind BYU’s Nachelle Mackie (2:03.56) and Katie Palmer (2:03.79). UT junior Nijgia Snapp was sixth today, posting a one-and-a-half second career best of 2:05.49.
Price, sixth at last year’s national meet, delivered the fastest regular-season 800 readout of her career. She will join Annie Alexander (shot put) and UT’s distance medley relay team at NCAA Indoors, which will be held in Nampa, Idaho, on March 9-10. Price runs the opening leg on the Tennessee DMR, collaborating with senior Ellen Wortham, Snapp and senior Brittany Sheffey.
“Chanelle set the race up well, and she came out with an automatic qualifying time,” UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark said. “It was good to see her run her fastest time outside NCAAs or SECs and auto this early, so she’s progressing. Obviously, we want to win, and we’ll work the kinks out to make sure she’s able to respond when it’s time.”
Classmate Brittany Sheffey came up a little more than three seconds shy of auto qualifying in the mile, but she still put together a career-best time of 4:40.28 to cross the line second. That time moved her to number four on UT’s all-time performers list in that event and put her in a position that Clark believes will make her a strong candidate for an NCAA bid.
“This was good for Brittany; she ran 4:47 last week,” Clark said. “She knocked off seven seconds and ran a PR, and she became the No. 4 performer in UT history. This is a solid time that should get her to the national meet. That’s what we are trying to do, is get marks that will give us an opportunity to run in the big meet.”
Ellen Wortham also turned in a fine showing in the women’s championship division of the 400 meters. The senior from Maryville rolled to a career-best readout of 53.49 to take fourth place against a talented field. Her effort ranks her ninth fastest in the NCAA this season and moves her to No. 6 on UT’s all-time performers list.
“Ellen always competes well in the big meets,” Clark said. “I’m not surprised. I saw her run in the trials, and I thought there was a little more left in the tank. She cleaned her race up a little bit better and was able to run one of the fastest times in the nation.”
For the Vols, junior Chris Bodary drew Clark’s praise for his career-best readout in the finals of the college men’s mile. His 4:10.38 handiwork earned him an 11th-place outcome, even though he is ticketed for longer races at the conference meet.
“Chris Bodary ran a PR in the mile while he was getting himself prepared for the longer events,” Clark said. “That is good sign. Tommy G. (Gilmartin) came close to breaking his PR in the 5K, so these are good strides.”
The Tennessee men also got an eighth-placing showing from sophomore Chase Brannon in the pole vault. He was once again over the bar at 17 feet, clearing 17-0 3/4 Saturday night. Classmate Tyler Porter was 13th at 16-7. Competing unattached, Joe Berry won the competition at 17-4 3/4. The five-time SEC champion has a season of outdoor eligibility remaining and will start competing for the Vols again on March 23.
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Georgia’s Morgann Leleux Joins Nation’s Elite At Virginia Tech Meet
BLACKSBURG, Va. --- Lady Bulldog freshman Morgann Leleux soared over a career-best height in the pole vault to automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships to highlight the second day of the Virginia Tech Elite meet in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday.
After missing 14 feet, 2 ½ inches twice before her third attempt clearance, the New Iberia, La., native cleared 14-4.50 on her first try to win the meet and be named the meet’s Outstanding Women’s Performer. Leleux surged into the No. 2 spot in the school record books with the best mark for the Lady Bulldogs since 2011 and in this year’s national rankings with her meet record mark.
Georgia finished with 19 marks that were either season-best or personal-best marks to go along with four wins on Saturday. Following the meet, Bulldog assistant coach Jon Stuart said both UGA teams are “forming an identity” as the Southeastern Conference Championships (Feb. 24-26) near.
“We showed a lot of improvements this weekend and I think this meet will act as a springboard as we approach the latter part of the indoor season,” said Stuart, adding that each winner in Blacksburg received a blanket from Virginia Tech. “Morgan had a big mark for a meet record that got everyone going. Torrin (Lawrence), who still owns meet records in the 200, 300 and 400 here, continued his success in this facility and is pushing himself closer to the top of the nation’s list.
“I think we got some marks today that should propel some people to Nationals and that’s what we strive for. Our teams are forming an identity. We are showing that we are a bunch of winners and we will do some damage when the postseason gets here.”
Senior Torrin Lawrence tallied another victory for the Bulldogs in the 200-meter dash. Lawrence finished with his fastest time since 2010 after recording a mark of 21.12, which is the eighth-best time in the country in 2012.
Also in the 200, sophomore Waymon Storey had a season-best finish of 21.26 to earn runner-up honors for Georgia.
Lawrence returned in the 4x400 relay with freshmen Chris Foster and Drew Branch along with Storey to win with the 15th-fastest time in the nation this year. The Bulldog foursome clocked a 3:09.88 to leave Florida behind by three seconds with the ninth-best time in school history.
The Lady Bulldog team of freshman Quintunya Chapman, who had a personal best in the 400, freshman Tynia Gaither, who had the best time of her career in the 200, junior Keisha Spates and freshman Taylor Hollingsworth also had a season-best time in the 4x400 relay (3:50.19) for third place.
“Waymon really came through at the meet by running a key leg on the relay and having the best time of the season in the 200,” Stuart said.
Senior Latroya Darrell, who graduated in December 2011, jumpstarted her final indoor campaign by winning the triple jump with a season-best mark of 41-7.25 on her fifth attempt.
Also in the jumps, junior Saniel Atkinson shot to seventh on the national performance list after matching her personal best in the high jump. Atkinson went over the bar at 5-11.50 to take second in the competition.
Another runner-up performance in the Rector Field House was sophomore Caleb Whitener in the shot put. Whitener answered his personal-best effort in the weight throw on Friday with the best shot put mark of his collegiate career, launching a throw of 59-2.25 on his second try.
Junior Petr Novotny was third in the shot put after his third throw traveled a season-best distance of 57-0.25.
Sophomore Hilenn James was fifth in the women’s shot put with her best throw of the season (50-7.50).
After Leleux set the bar in the women’s pole vault, freshman Cameron Meyer had a personal-best mark of his own on the men’s side. Meyer picked up a clearance of 16-8.75 to tie for third and improve his No. 9 spot in the school record books.
Also of note, sophomore Graylin Ward cruised over the high jump bar on his first try at a career-best height of 6-9.75 to take sixth.
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LSU TRACK & FIELD WINS FOUR TITLES AT NEW BALANCE INVITATIONAL
NEW YORK – The LSU Track & Field teams added a pair of event championships with two of the NCAA’s leading performances by senior Michael Lauro in the men’s weight throw and junior Kimberlyn Duncan in the women’s 200-meter dash while wrapping up the 2012 New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday night at The Armory Track & Field Center.
Their performance highlighted a weekend in which the teams combined for four event titles over two days of action en route to a second-place finish for the Tigers and a third-place finish for the Lady Tigers in the final team standings in the 12th edition of one of the nation’s premier indoor meets.
The Tigers scored 75 points during the meet to finish runner-up to the 85 points scored by Texas A&M in the race for the men’s team title. Mississippi State finished well behind in third place with 59 points.
The Lady Tigers totaled 60 points for the weekend to finish in third place in the final standings behind the likes of first-place Clemson (93) and second-place BYU (64) in the chase for the women’s crown.
“I thought we got a little bit better as a team here this weekend,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “In our two days here at The Armory, we saw a number of athletes put themselves in a better position to have a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships. All we’re looking for at this time of year is to improve a little bit each week to give ourselves the best chance as a team to compete in the championship meets.”
Duncan was the first to step onto the track for a championship final on the final day of competition at The Armory after posting Friday’s fastest qualifying time in the 200-meter prelims at 23.34 seconds.
Duncan took control of the race early and never looked back as she crossed the finish line with a national-leading time of 23.22 to become the fifth Lady Tiger in meet history to claim the women’s 200-meter title at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. She joins a distinguished list of past LSU champions that also includes Lady Tiger greats Muna Lee (2002, 2003, 2004) and Kelly-Ann Baptiste (2007).
Duncan finished ahead of Texas A&M’s duo of Dominique Duncan (23.63) and Ashley Collier (23.66) to take home the victory in the championship final and extend her collegiate winning streak in the 200-meter dash to 11-straight victories in finals dating back to the 2011 indoor season.
She has not tasted defeat in the 200 meters at the collegiate level since finishing in third place in the event final at the 2011 New Balance Collegiate Invitational as a sophomore a season ago.
“I’ll take it,” Duncan said following her victory. “Compared to what I was running last year, I am running faster and with better technique at this time of the year. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I have to improve myself. Any improvement I have each meet, I’ll take it.”
While competing in just his second weight throw competition of the season, Lauro moved into the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings with his performance on Saturday afternoon in capturing the fourth-straight weight throw crown by an LSU Tiger at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
After qualifying for the championship final with a top mark of 67 feet, 6 inches on his third attempt of the preliminary round, Lauro followed two fouls in the final with his seasonal-best mark of 68-7 ¾ on his last attempt of the afternoon to capture the weight throw title by just over seven inches over the mark of 66-10 ¾ by Iowa’s Matt Banse. He continued the dominance by LSU in the event at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as former Tiger Walter Henning claimed three-straight titles from 2009-11.
With his performance, Lauro cracked the NCAA’s Top 10 this season with the 10th-ranked performance at the collegiate level for 2012. He owns a personal record in the event of 70-7 set as a junior in 2011.
“I was very surprised at how far I threw today, but very happy with the performance,” Lauro said. “I have actually been throwing the weight less in practice than I ever have. My first practice this year with the 35-pound weight was on Wednesday, so I was a little bit surprised with what I threw today. We’ve really just training for the weight as if it is the hammer. Throwing the weight less makes it easier to throw.
“I’m looking to throw my best when it counts the most in the championship meets. Being just two feet off of my PR today shows that I’m right there with where I want to be.”
Lady Tiger senior Rebecca Alexander also enjoyed one of the nation’s leading performances this year in a runner-up finish in the women’s 400-meter dash championship after sprinting to a new lifetime PR for the event with a time of 52.66 in the final. Alexander, who entered the meet with a previous PR of 53.03 from the SEC Indoor Championships a year ago, finished runner-up to Clemson’s Marlena Wesh (52.21) with a time that ranks No. 2 on the NCAA list and just shy of the NCAA qualifying standard of 52.60.
The Lady Tigers now feature two of the NCAA’s top four 400-meter runners on the women’s side for this season as senior Cassandra Tate owns the No. 4-ranked performance for 2012 at 53.13.
Tiger junior Caleb Williams followed with a bronze-medal winning third-place finish in the men’s final in the 400 meters as he clocked 47.28 after qualifying with Friday’s fastest preliminary time at 47.14.
The Tiger jumpers continued their momentum from Friday’s 1-2 finish in the men’s long jump when both junior Damar Forbes and senior Kyron Blaise again finished as the top two collegians in the triple jump in Saturday’s championship finale to add 18 points toward LSU’s final team score.
Fresh off his win in the long jump when he set a seasonal best of 26-0 ¾ on Friday night, Forbes leaped to a 2012 seasonal best of 51-10 ½ in the triple jump on Saturday for a fourth-place finish overall and a first-place finish among collegians in the field. Blaise followed Forbes in fifth place overall in the competition and second place among collegiate competitors with his seasonal-best mark of 51-3 ¾.
With Forbes winning the collegiate championship in the triple jump, he dethroned his teammate as winner of the event as Blaise entered the meet as the defending champion.
Lady Tiger sophomore Denise Hinton continued her early-season momentum in the weight throw with yet another personal-best performance while scoring the first points of the day for the Lady Tigers.
Hinton, who emerged as an All-America contender a week ago after throwing a school record 66-1 ½ in a runner-up finish at the Razorback Invitational, shattered her own mark in Saturday’s first championship final with a series-best throw of 66-7 (20.29m) on her fifth attempt while scoring six points with her third-place finish. She moved up one spot to No. 14 in the NCAA rankings with her performance.
After qualifying for the final with a top mark of 64-11 ¼ in the preliminary round, Hinton improved in the final with her new seasonal-best toss of 66-7 to finish in third place overall behind Baylor’s Erin Atkinson (67-9) and Nebraska’s Alena Krechyk (67-0) for the weight throw crown.
Hinton has shown tremendous improvement this season while setting personal bests in four-straight meets with previous PR marks of 57-8 ½ at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener on Jan. 14, 63-2 at the Texas A&M Dual Meet on Jan. 21 and 66-1 ½ at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 28.
Junior Laura Carleton continued the momentum for the Lady Tigers with a third-place finish and personal best of her own in the women’s 3,000 meters championship.
Carleton opened the 2012 indoor season with a victory in the 3,000-meter run at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener, where she recorded the second-fastest performance in school history with a lifetime personal best of 9 minutes, 37.80 seconds. She slashed more than eight seconds from her season-opening 3k run to take third place in Saturday’s final with a new lifetime PR of 9:29.44, finishing behind only Rachel Johnson of Baylor (9:28.27) and Tamara Jewett of Toronto (9:29.18) in the championship final.
With her performance, Carleton strengthened her hold on the No. 2 spot on LSU’s indoor performance list in and moved to within 10 seconds of Lisa Reed’s indoor school record of 9:19.11 set back in 1987.
Other LSU athletes posting new indoor personal bests in Saturday’s finale include Jonique Day (24.59) in the women’s 200 meters and Roger Cooke (4:27.76) and Philip Primeaux (4:23.22) in the men’s mile.
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Tyson Sets UK Freshman Record in 200-Meter Dash
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky freshman Keilah Tyson broke her second UK track and field freshman record in as many weeks Saturday, and the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out competition on day two of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
Tyson, the reigning Southeastern Conference Women’s Freshman of the Week, won the 200-meter dash Saturday in her first ever race in the event collegiately. Tyson beat the competition Saturday by 0.25 seconds and broke the UK freshman record previously held by Bianca Tyson (2008) and Michelle Brown (1994) by 0.27 seconds. Tyson’s time of 23.93 is the third fastest 200m dash in Kentucky history.
Tyson’s performance comes one week after she broke the UK freshman 60m dash record previously set by UK great and former U.S. Olympian Passion Richardson. Similar to Saturday’s performance, Tyson’s record-breaking 60m dash was the first time she had competed in the event collegiately. The Norfolk, Va., native competed in the long jump Friday, finishing fourth in the event with the seventh best jump in school history.
Junior Darryl Bradshaw saved his best for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles. Bradshaw qualified for the finals on Friday by winning his heat with a time of 8.05, missing out on his career-best time of 8.04, which is also the sixth best time in school history, by 0.01. Bradshaw got over the hump Saturday, running a career-best 8.01. Bradshaw’s time is the new sixth best time in school history.
After running the ninth best 3,000m in school history one week ago, junior Luis Orta bettered himself Saturday by running the eighth best 3,000m in school history, crossing the finish line in 8:08.09 to finish ninth.
Freshman Keffri Neal ran a career-best 1:50.61 in the 800m to finish ninth. Senior Megan Broderick also recorded a career best time. The former UK tennis star finished 12th in the women’s one-mile run, crossing the line in 4:58.37.
Freshman Terence Boyd finished third in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 15.15m/49-08.50. The Ft. Worth, Texas native has already tied the seventh best mark in UK history in the long jump, and the eighth best mark in the triple jump this year.
The Wildcats will compete again in one week, as the team will split into two squads and travel to Seattle, Wash., for the Husky Classic, and Geneva, Ohio for the SPIRE Collegiate Invitational. Kentucky will then host the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships for the sixth time on Feb. 24-26.