April 1, 2006
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina recorded 33 podium performances, including 14 total first-place finishes on Saturday in the final day of competition in the 2006 Western Invitational. The Catamount women accounted for 15 top three finishes and a total of seven victories, while the men tallied 18 podium visits, equaling the women with seven wins.
The Southern Conference claimed victory on both sides in the head-to-head competition between the SoCon and Big South Conferences. On the men's side, Western, which was the only SoCon school competing over the weekend, scored 341 total points to edge the tandem of Coastal Carolina (220) and UNC Asheville (74) from the Big South with 294 points. In women's competition, WCU scored a school-best 255 points, coupled with Georgia Southern's 185 for a 440-to-253 win over the Big South. Coastal Carolina led the BSC with 213 points, while UNC Asheville scored 40.
Continuing their success from the first day, the Coastal Carolina women posted a one-through-three finish in the women's hammer throw. Junior Jessica Pressley won the event with a distance of 51.33 meters (168-5) to finish in front of teammates Brittany Reid (47.49m, 156-2) and Courtney Nash (46.35m, 152-1). Junior Sharhonda Bell led a trio of WCU finishers in fifth through seventh. Bell threw a WCU season-best 41.87 meters (137-4), followed by sophomore Michaela Hall (40.01m, 131-3) in sixth and Nicole Lopez (39.15m, 128-5), all throwing their best of the season.
Georgia Southern claimed top points in the women's discus as sophomore Monique Pitts won the event with a distance of 41.14 meters (135-0). The Chants, however, claimed second through fourth with Brittany Reid (39.97m, 131-02), Courtney Nash (39.03m, 128-1) and Jamie Mushatt-Valrie (38.71m, 127-0) rounding out the top four finishers.
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Several women set Catamount Athletic Complex facility records on the day in various events. In the women's 100-meter hurdles, two members from Team Velocity broke the track record as Rhonda White and Kamelia Tyson won the event with times of 13.70 and 13.76, respectively, with the first being the record. GSU junior Brittany Chase was the top collegiate finisher in third, also breaking the old track record by tripping the tape at 13.99.
Catamount sophomore Tangelia Johnson claimed first-place in both the women's 100- and 200-meter dash. She won the shorter of the two sprints in 11.82 and turned half a circuit in 24.11, which is one of the quickest times of this outdoor season. In the 200, Johnson edged classmate Raquel Ramseur by one, one-hundredth of a second as the Charlotte, N.C., native rank 24.12 right on Johnson's heels. In the 100-meter dash, ETSU's Cagney Bailey was the runner-up, while GSU's Nicole Brown was third behind Johnson and Ramseur in the 200-meter event.
Ramseur did manage to tally a first, though, winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.96, three-tenths of a second slower than her seasonal best. UNC Asheville senior Tanya Harris ran second (55.75) while Ebony Brown of Coastal was third (56.15). WCU's domination of the track events continued when sophomore Kerrie Savery won the women's 800-meter run by five seconds over teammate, freshman Annie Bailey, 2:16.41-to-2:21.80. UNCA's Ingred Allstaedt followed the two Catamounts in third, less than a second off Bailey's final stride (2:22.62).
Western junior Asia Davis not only set a CAC record, but qualified for the NCAA Regionals at the same time in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Davis circled the track in a season's best 59.56 to take the top honor in the event, as well as leave her name in the record books and secure a spot in the East regional. Georgia Southern's Amber Wilson rank second in the event (1:01.86) with CCU's LeAuna Sistrunk placing third (1:03.96).
Senior Deanna Kulesz knocked nine seconds off her previous season best by running an 11:00.42 to win the women's 3,000-meter run by over 11 seconds over the runner-up, Claudia Witte from Coastal Carolina, while Abby Bloom from Georgia Southern claimed the 3,000-meter Steeplechase in 12:03.00. Western's Skye Aiello was third in the steeple. Kulesz ran third in the 1,500-meter run, trailing classmate Brittney Jett from GSU (4:51.03) and MacKenzie Labonte of East Tennessee State (4:52.86).
In the relay events, Western Carolina's `A' team of Johnson, sophomore Raquel Ramseur, senior Cassie Gentry, and junior Asia Davis set a Catamount Athletic Complex record in the 4x100-meter relay, passing the baton in 45.72 to edge both Georgia Southern (46.43) and Coastal Carolina (46.87). The Chanticleers claimed the top prize in the final women's event of the day, winning the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:50.94 over Georgia Southern in second (3:55.08) and Western in third (3:59.25). Running the day-ending event for WCU were sophomore Brooke Saddler, Savery, Whittaker, Bailey.
The Catamount men's 4x100-meter relay team not only set a CAC record, but also qualified for the NCAA Regional by turning the quick lap of 40.31 to take first place, beating out former SoCon foe, East Tennessee State, and Coastal Carolina. Team members included senior Milton Bolton, freshman Kevin Johnson, sophomore Zeb Johnson, and sophomore Mike Malone. The four also performed well individually as Zeb Johnson led a top four sweep by the Catamounts in the 200-meter dash by not only setting a CAC record but also qualifying for the NCAA Regionals with a 20.88. Johnson edged freshmen teammates Manteo Mitchell (21.11) and Kevin Johnson (21.63), with a fourth Catamount, Malone, running fourth.
Western also swept the top honors in the 400-meter dash as Bolton set a CAC record at 47.30, followed by Mitchell with a 47.87, which was also below the old track record, and junior James Gregory in third (48.80). The tandem of Johnson and Johnson (Zeb and Kevin) finished second and third for WCU in the 100-meter dash, just behind East Tennessee State's James Rainer, who set a CAC record and qualified for regionals with his time of 10.40.
WCU senior Lawrence Briscoe won the men's high jump competition, clearing a seasonal best 1.90 meters (6-2.75) to defeat Michael Estes (ETSU) and David Gift (unattached) who each cleared 1.85 meters (6-0.75). Freshman Rashad Herndon was fifth, followed by classmate Chris Gaillard, junior Matt Harlfinger, Rod Palmer, and junior Ashton Bennett, all in purple and gold. Briscoe also won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.54 and placed second in the men's 400-meter dash (55.39), runner-up to Coastal's Tyrone Murphy who won the event with a time of 53.69. WCU's Charleton Grant was third, four seconds in arrears to Murphy with a time of 57.50.
Catamount middle distance runner, senior Adam Puett, won two events on the day, taking top honors in the 800-meter run at 1:56.67 and in the 1,500-meter run at 3:59.04. Puett's time in the 800 was a full second in front of Coastal Carolina's Jamie McCarthy (1:57.68) and nearly two seconds ahead of UNCA's Dave Bell in third (1:59.44). His 1,500-meter time just beat out Taylor Little of UNC Asheville in second (4:00.31) and Blair Paul of Coastal in third (4:05.83).
King College, who's staff includes former WCU student-athlete and graduate assistant Johnny Bomar, won the men's 4x400-meter relay. The team of all-freshman team of Josh Cloyd, Marcus Lomans, David Krenik, and Caleb McDaniel passed the baton in 3:18.42 to edge Western's C team in second and ETSU in third. Coastal Carolina dominated the two long distance events of the meet as junior Doug Currie won the men's 3,000-meter run (8:38.58) and senior Johnny Mitchell won the 3,000-meter Steeplechase in 9:55.07. Western's Field Miller and Noah Taylor finished fifth and sixth in the 3K run.
Another NCAA Regional mark was achieved in the men's hammer throw as Coastal's Galen Jones recorded a distance of 56.76 meters (186-3) to win the event. His teammate, Tommy Sugishita, was third (51.78m, 169-10). Western took fifth through seventh as Jerod Kelly was WCU's best performer with a distance of 43.10 meters (141-5).
Rounding out the field events, defending SoCon champion, WCU's David Bowles, was the highest collegiate finisher (2nd overall) in the men's javelin with a distance of 55.34 meters (181-7). He finished second in the competition to Barry Flicker, who threw 56.77 meters (186-3). Western's Josh Lee also threw well, posting a fourth-place finish. The Chanticleer's Mark Johnson won the men's pole vault, defeating a pair from Clemson in the process, while Jamaal Parker of King College took home top honors in the men's triple jump, leaping 14.73 meters (48-4.0) to edge Omar Ahmad of UNCA and Western freshman Chris Gaillard.
The Catamounts return to action April 7-8 traveling to Clemson, S.C., for a team scored event in the Clemson Invitational. Western will be joined by the host Tigers, East Carolina, VMI, The Citadel, Howard, and North Florida.
