Woods' time in the 200 broke the Charlotte record and qualified her for NCAA Regionals |
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Woods Shatters School 200-meter Record at Charlotte Invitational
April 2, 2005
Charlotte, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers track & field programs hosted the Charlotte Invitational on Saturday, April 2 at Irwin Belk Track, where sophomore Shareese Woods shattered the school's 200-meter dash record in a NCAA Regional-qualifying time. Several other athletes from various teams posted high-quality national-caliber marks at the event.
Woods won the 200-dash with a time of 23.75, which qualifies her to compete in the NCAA East Regional Championships later this spring. That time breaks the previous school record by .25 seconds, and places her high on the Conference USA rankings chart. Woods also won the 400-meter dash in a time of 54.71 seconds, and anchored Charlotte's winning 4x100-meter relay.
The men's 4x100-meter relay again improved upon its season-best and Regional-qualifying time. Benjamin McCallum, Quincy Smith, Jason Moore and Derrick Johnson won the event in a time of 40.48, which moves them up into third place on the school's all-time list and would rank second among all C-USA teams based on performances as of last week.
In addition to Woods' school mark, Verun Tahiliani also broke the Charlotte all-time best in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. He finished in 6:04.49 to earn second place overall. Tahiliani finished behind Coastal Carolina's Terah Kipchiris, who set a new facility record in the event by clocking in at 5:55.79.
"The wind, cold, and rain was less than optimal conditions, especially for some events," said head coach Robert Olesen. "But we had a number of people who maintained their focus and performed very well. While performances in some events were hindered by the conditions, we still represented the school well in what was a strong field of teams for a middle sized track and field meet."
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Overall, six facility records were broken on the day, including three performances that would end up as the best in the NCAA so far this year. In the men's discus, Vikas Gowda of North Carolina earned a No. 1 spot in the NCAA rankings with a throw of 64.69 meters (212-feet, 3-inches). Virginia Tech's Spyridon Jullien is also tops among NCAA competitors in the men's hammer throw, with a distance of 69.73 meters (228-feet, 9-inches). Rounding out the NCAA top performances was Kobus Smit, also of Virginia Tech, whose distance of 74.00 meters (242-feet, 9-inches) is the best in men's javelin this season.
Also turning in facility records on Saturday were Noah Cosby of North Carolina, who tied the men's pole vault mark with a height of 5.05 meters (16-feet, 6.75-inches), Coastal Carolina's Kipchris, and unattached competitor Amber Campell (women's hammer, 64.69 meters or 212-feet, 3- inches).
Charlotte won 12 events overall at the meet. In addition to Woods, who won the 200 and 400, Tawana Norman was also a dual individual champion, taking the crowns in the 100-meter dash and long jump. In the 100, Norman clocked in at 11.84, good for second on the school's all-time list. She went 5.96 meters in the long jump (19-feet, 6.5-inches) to take that event.
Both Woods and Norman ran on the women's 4x100-relay, which won with a time of 46.06. Woods picked up her fourth win of the day as a member of the 4x400-meter relay, joining Paris Smith, Tina Horne and Angel Moore to clock a time of 3:56.76.
Adrienne Barnette took the high jump (5' 5") to round out the winners on the women's side.
For the men, Derrick Johnson added to his anchor spot on the winning 4x100-relay with two individual wins. He took the 100-dash with a time of 10.50, and added a 200-meter dash title in 21.30.
John Okonkwo won the high jump with a height of 1.95m (6' 4.75"), while LaMarcus Outing was the long jump titlist with a distance of 7.30m (23' 11.5").
The men dominated the 200-meter dash, as Johnson, McCallum, Moore, James Bacon and Smith finished 1-2-4-5-6 overall. Bacon was also the top collegiate finisher in the 400-meter dash, earning second place overall with a time of 48.33. Brandon Wyatt, competing in his first outdoor meet for Charlotte, made an immediate impact on the all-time charts. Wyatt threw the hammer 49.26 meters (161-feet, 7-inches) to put his name second among the school's all-time leaders.
In addition to Norman's win in the 100-dash, Tempess Stark and Missy Philogene finished second and third, respectively. Paris Smith clocked a season-best in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing third with a time of 1:04.59.
