Jan. 20, 2007

Clemson, S.C. - In the first indoor meet of 2007, Western Carolina posted a pair of ninth-place team finishes at the Clemson Invitational Indoor Track & Field meet held Saturday (Jan. 20). Junior Zeb Johnson led WCU with two podium finishes, including winning the 200-meter dash and finishing third in 400-meter event, while women's junior Raquel Ramseur paced the women with a second-place run in the 400-meter event.

All told, Western combined for 18 seasonal top performances at the meet (11 men, 7 women).

In addition to his two top three finishes, Johnson also ran fourth in the men's 60-meter dash, posting a team-best time of 6.80. The Charlotte, N.C., native headlines both the 200- and 400-meter time charts for Western with times of 21.79 and 49.01, respectively, at Clemson. Joined by teammates, sophomore John Oros, senior Mike Malone, and junior Duke Craig, Johnson was a part of the men's 4x400-meter relay team that finished fifth on Saturday with a time of 3:22.40. Malone additionally finished 10th in the 60-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.45

Other top performances for the Catamount men included freshman Matt Evans taking fourth in the high jump, clearing 2.03 meters (6-8.0); freshman Dominique Young placing fifth in the 200-meter dash (21.98); and sophomore Manteo Mitchell finishing tied for seventh in the 60-meter dash. Sophomore Rashad Herndon leaped 6.78 meters (22-3.0) in the long jump to place seventh, edging out teammate Tyler Ferguson (6.59m, 21-7.5) in 10th, while sophomore Daniel Joseph finished seventh in the triple jump (14.29m, 46-10.75) with Ferguson placing eighth (14.09m, 46-2.75).

For Western's women, junior Kerrie Savery placed sixth in the 800-meter run, while senior Deanna Kulesz was eighth in the 3,000-meter event. In the sprints, junior Tangelia Johnson made the finals of the 60-meter dash with a season-best time of 7.71, finishing 16th overall. Ramseur finished second (56.57) in the 200-meter dash, followed in sixth by senior teammate Asia Davis with a time of 58.39.

The team of sophomore Aneesha Lane, Ramseur, Savery, and freshman Tierra Johnson ran fifth in the 4x400-meter relay, five seconds quicker than the WCU's previous seasonal top time, passing the baton in 3:52.39. Savery ran with junior Brooke Saddler, sophomore Annie Bailey, and Kulesz to finish seventh in the distance medley relay (12:24.56).

Highlighting WCU's women's field events was junior Nicole Lopez who set a season-best with a distance of 15.01 meters (49-3.0) in the weight throw.

Western Carolina returns to competition this Friday and Saturday at the NISWONGER Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State in the Memorial Mini-Dome in Johnson City, Tenn. WCU combined to post four top seasonal performances a year ago at the same event.

In other WCU Track & Field news, head coach Danny Williamson, who has garnered the SoCon's Track Coach of the Year honor 20-times in his illustrious career, will be the in-studio guest on "In the Litterbox" this Wednesday (Jan. 24) on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee at 7:00 pm.

Complete Event Results (From ClemsonTigers.com)

Women - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
 1) North Carolina         124
 2) Charlotte              107
 3) Miami                   93
 4) Clemson                 78
 5) Alabama                 49
 6) Auburn                  41.50
 7) Mississippi St.         31
 8) Wake Forest             25
 9) Western Carolina        23
 9) Furman                  23
11) Georgia Tech            14
12) Appalachian State       11
13) North Carolina State     4.50


Men - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
1) Clemson                136
2) Auburn                  83.50
3) Wake Forest             80
4) North Carolina          67
5) Georgia Tech            58.50
6) Charlotte               53
7) North Carolina State    50
8) Appalachian State       46
9) Western Carolina        44

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