Junior Aja Jackson led the 49ers at the Carolina Classic this weekend |
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Jackson and Distance Medley Teams Lower Season's Bests at Carolina Classic
Feb. 4, 2008
Chapel Hill, N.C. - For the second meet in a row, junior Aja Jackson, named co-Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week, has run to the top of the Atlantic 10 rankings, running a season-bet 4:56.61 in the mile run for third place and second collegiate finish at the Carolina Classic this weekend. Jackson's conference-topping time, which will match her top ranking time in the 800m run from last weekend, is just two seconds from her lifetime best run at last year's A-10 Conference Championship that ranked her second all-time behind All-American Cassie Ficken. Jackson also led off the distance medley relay with a strong 1200m leg, handing off to teammates Shanice Jones, Christina Hobbs and Amanda Goetschius for a third-place finish at 11:57.18, ranking them second all-time and third in the A-10.
"We had several important season's bests and showed some consistency and reliability across the board at Chapel Hill, which is important as we will depend on scoring from all event areas to reach our goals in the conference championship," head coach Bob Olesen said.
"The conference's team recorded a huge number of season's bests this weekend tailoring their entries to jockey for position on the conference rankings which for a number of events are used for seeding purposes at the championship. When the rankings come out midweek, we should still look good with respect to our expectations for team performance at the championship."
In the men's distance medley relay, the team of Adu Dentamo, Darius Law, Chase Eckard and Ryan Jank crossed the finish line in 10:03.31 for the win and second spot on both the all-time list, just three seconds from the school record, and current A-10 rankings.
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The women's short sprinters continued to improve with three lifetime bests in the 60m dash. Lajarsha Moses, Lamarra Currie and LaDrea Dortch went 7.46, 7.48, and 7.67 respectively occupying 4th, 6th and 10th all time. The same trio also recorded solid times in the 200m with Currie winning the event in 24.64, Moses fifth in 25.05 and Dortch notching a second lifetime best at 25.57. Dortch's improvement, together with teammates' Currie, Moses, Ebonie Cunningham, and Toree Roseboro's previous season's bests rank the 49ers first through fifth in the event in the conference's current rankings, with Currie in the top spot.
Women's quarter milers Yvonna Hines, Kortnie Coleman, Shanice Jones, and Ashley Brown performed well in the open 400m dash and came together to claim the runner up spot in the 4x400m relay at the end of the meet Saturday in 3:52.17. The 49ers' best relay squad on the season leads the conference by over five seconds with the 3:44.86 run at Penn State.
Former Charlotte great and volunteer coach Shareese Woods won the 400m in 53.21, breaking UNC Chapel Hill's facility record by 0.75 seconds. Woods, representing her management team Charisma Sports, qualified for the U.S. Indoor Championships to be held in Boston February 23-24, from which the U.S. will select a team for the World Indoor Championship in Valencia, Spain March 7-9. The performance follows her first place showing in the 200m, representing team USA at last week's Norwich Union International Match in Glasgow, Scotland. Woods, who is already qualified for this summer's US Olympic Trials in the 200m, will be striving for a spot on the Olympic team for Beijing, China in those trials.
Sophomore Sunita Braithwaite finished eighth in the 60m hurdle final with a lifetime best 8.74, which ranks her third all-time and second in the A-10. Joined by hurdler teammates Pat Springs and freshman Tacara Morrisey, the 49ers currently hold the first, second and fourth spots in the event in the conference.
Springs was the top collegiate finisher in the women's invitational section long jump at 19'2.5 (5.85m) and remains atop the conference rankings in that event by nearly two feet. In the men's invitational long jump section, senior LaMarcus Outing leapt 23'4 (7.11m) to capture third place and remains ranked second in the conference.
In other men's field event action, Jake Wainwright cleared the high jump bar at 6'6 (1.98m) for 7th place, ranking the freshman third in the A-10 and fifth all-time for Charlotte.
Freshman Jason Roberts recorded lifetime bests in the shot put 47'7.25 (14.80m) and weight throw 45'8 (13.92m) and looks to join junior thrower Jarryd Novotni in the scoring positions in the upcoming conference championship.
The 49ers will travel to Boone, N.C. for the Appalachian State Limited Friday for a final tune-up before heading to the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship at Rhode Island on Saturday, February 16.
"We will enter a partial squad at Appalachian State traveling those that can benefit from a tune up competition with respect to championship performance and seeding but resting athletes that are adequately prepared and positioned so that they can maximize their performance in the very strenuous A-10 Championship competition schedule," Olesen said.
