April 9, 2006

Clemson Invitational - Complete Results

Cullowhee, N.C. - A trio of Catamount track athletes hit NCAA regional qualifying marks as both the men and women's squads finished second to the host Tigers at the Clemson Invitational on Saturday. Seniors Milton Bolton (400-meter run) and Lawrence Briscoe (110-meter hurdles) qualified for the NCAAs on the men's side, while junior Asia Davis again ran a qualifying mark in the women's 400-meter hurdles.

All told, the Catamount track & field team recorded 24 podium finishes, including five, first-place performances at the Clemson Invitational. Both the men and women finished second to the host Clemson Tigers in the team scored event, tallying 147 points on the men's side and 149 on the women's.

Briscoe was the only new qualifier as both Bolton and Davis had qualified for the regional in earlier meets. Bolton reached the mark in the season-opening Charlotte 49er Invitational with a 47.23 and ran a season's best 46.94 on Saturday to win the event, the lone first-place finish for WCU's men. Davis ran her quickest time of the season last year in the Western Invitational and surpassed the regional mark again with a 59.71 in the 400-meter hurdles at Clemson. She just missed a top three finish with a fourth in the 100-meter hurdle event.

In addition to running a seasonal best 14.30 in the 110-meter hurdles to finished second and hit the qualifying mark, Briscoe also rank fifth in the 400-meter hurdle event and posted a podium finish in the men's high jump, clearing 1.95 meters (6-4.75) to place third.

Sophomore Zeb Johnson recorded top three finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dash, just edging freshman teammate Manteo Mitchell in the longer event by two, one-hundredths of a second, 21.45-to-21.47. Mitchell ran fourth behind Bolton in the 400-meter dash. Johnson and Bolton were joined by sophomore Mike Malone and freshman Kevin Johnson in the 4x100-meter relay, finishing second with a time of 40.84, just behind Clemson. In the other relay event, Charleton Grant, James Gregory, Chris Gaillard, and Duke Craig ran third in the 4x400.

Gaillard also finished with a third-place showing in the men's triple jump, leaping 13.10 meters (42-11.75), while just missing the podium in the long jump, placing fourth. Chris Page tallied two podium visits including a pair of third place finishes. The Tryon, N.C., sophomore finished third in the men's shot put (12.87m, 42-2.75) and was the second runner-up in the men's discus, edging teammate Willie Sturgis with a distance of 43.63 meters (143-2). Sophomore David Bowles was WCU's top finisher in the men's javelin, posting his second-consecutive runner-up with a second-place throw of 55.96 meters (183-7). Ryan Fussell and Tyler Ferguson just missed the top three, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Defending Southern Conference women's runner of the week, sophomore Tangelia Johnson, staked her claim at repeating the weekly honor by winning both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. At the shorter of the two sprints, Johnson ran 11.96 to win and she turned half a lap in 24.20 to claim the top prize in the 200-meter dash. Her classmate, Raquel Ramseur, won the women's 400-meter dash, crossing the stripe two seconds ahead of teammate, Aneesha Lane, in second place. Lane teamed with Brooke Saddler, NaShay McGriff, and Rashanda Simmons to place second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 46.95.

In the middle distances, sophomore Kerrie Savery gave the Catamount women another podium finish, placing third in the 800-meter run with a seasonal best time of 2:14.15. Senior Deanna Kulesz just missed the podium, finishing fourth in the 1,500-meter run with her best time of the outdoor season, 4:56.33.

In the field events, freshman Angela Stark led a trio of Catamounts in the women's high jump, clearing a seasons-best tying height of 1.65m (5-5.0) to place second. She was followed by Brittany Whittaker and Jessika Johnson, each also clearing 1.65m to all stand tied atop WCU's outdoor season performance charts. Simmons recorded a third-place performance in the women's long jump, leaping 5.25 meters (17-2.75) and placed fifth in the triple jump (10.96m, 35-11.5). Sharhonda Bell stood on the podium in the women's shot put, placing third with her best distance of the season at 12.28 meters (40-3.5), just in front of teammate Nicole Lopez (12.01m, 39-5.0).

Western's track & field teams return to action this weekend, April 14-15, at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. Six of the Catamounts top outdoor performances from last season were recorded at the relays.

Men's Team Scoring
1. Clemson              220 pts
2. Western Carolina     147 pts
3. East Carolina        108 pts
4. VMI                   76 pts
5. The Citadel           68 pts
6. Howard                58 pts

Women's Team Scoring
1. Clemson              280 pts
2. Western Carolina     149 pts
3. East Carolina        100 pts
4. Howard                67 pts
5. The Citadel           56 pts
6. VMI                   25 pts
 

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