Junior Pat Springs took first in the long jump at Clemson while also setting a school record |
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Pat Springs Sets School Record as 49ers Commence Indoor Season
Dec. 2, 2007
Appalachian State Indoor Meet Results
Clemson, S.C. - Setting a school record, junior Pat Springs took first place in the long jump at the Clemson Opener this weekend as the Charlotte 49ers men's and women's track teams commenced the 2008 indoor season. The 49ers, slated to finish first and second on the women's and men's sides of the Atlantic 10 in the preseason coaches poll, also competed at the Appalachian State Indoor Meet Saturday.
"We had a great start to the indoor track season at Clemson and Appalachian State with a school record, a number of top 10 performances as well as some things we will really need to improve upon," head coach Bob Olesen, the 2007 A-10 Coach of the Year, said. "Most importantly, we received excellent feedback on the effectiveness of our preseason preparation and clear indications of what we need to work on as we move into the bulk of the indoor season after the winter break."
At Clemson, Springs anchored the 49ers with her first-place long jump finish, jumping 20-feet-five-inches (6.22m) on her second jump in the preliminaries, breaking the record of 20'1.75" set in 2005 by Tawanna Norman. Her finish is a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championship. Springs also finished fourth in the 60m hurdles, clocking in at 8.73 in the preliminary round, just 0.02 shy of her personal best from the 2007 campaign and 0.3 seconds faster than the time she recorded at the 2006 Clemson Opener.
"Pat had a fantastic start of the indoor season," Olesen said. "While I expected her to have strong initial performances, I am pleasantly surprised by the record and near personal best in the hurdles. The long jump was a bit unexpected as we've been training very hard and she's certainly not in peak championship form right now, so we're looking forward to some really exciting and unprecedented performances when the championships arrive in February and March."
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Springs was backed up in the hurdles by newcomers freshman Tacara Morrisey (8.80) and sophomore transfer Sunita Braithwaite (8.89), both running personal bests and giving the 49ers three of the eight hurdles finalists. Springs, Morrisey and Braithwaite currently rank second, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the Charlotte all-time top 10 list.
In the men's 60m hurdles at Clemson, freshman Korel Mack also joined the all-time top 10 list at number four, running an 8.11 in the preliminaries and a 8.18 in the finals for fourth place.
"We're really impressed with Korel, as he has adjusted extremely well to the collegiate height hurdles and will be pursuing the school record and NCAA provisional marks of 7.95 and 7.91, respectively, right from the start of his career," Olesen said.
The 49ers also posted strong results in women's sprints at Clemson, winning the 60m, 200m and 400m dashes. Junior Lamarra Currie and senior Lajarsha Moses dominated the 60m and 200m, with a first and second and first and third finishes, respectively, allowing Currie to win both events. Both Currie and Moses, who broke their personal bests in the 200m, were right on their personal best times in the 60m from the 2007 campaign.
Freshmen Ebonie Cunningham, Yvonna Hines and Kortney Coleman also had solid first collegiate races in the 400m, with Cunningham winning her first collegiate race in 56.66.
"We're picking up right where we left off last year with Coach Hall's women's sprint group already showing they will be deep and tough to beat at the conference level," Olesen said.
The Cunningham, Hines and Coleman trio was joined by Shanice Jones for an all-freshen 4x400m team, finishing second in 3.50.99, ranking ninth all-time at Charlotte. Jones, a 400m hurdler in the offseason, worked on her spring strength as well by racing the longer 800m, finishing a respectable sixth in 2.23.10.
Rounding out the top women's performances at the Clemson Opener, sophomore Danielle Brown recorded indoor personal bests in the long jump (18'3.75", 5.58m) and the triple jump (38'5.5", 11.72m) for fifth place in both events.
On the men's side at Clemson, sophomore Adu Dentamo and junior Chase Eckard finished first and second in the 3000m, respectively, with Eckard recording a personal best.
"Adu redshirted the fall's cross country season, so much like the rest of the track team, we were looking for an evaluation of his race fitness and speed," Olesen said. "Chase was there to help Adu in his first race of the year with pace setting and to evaluate the effectiveness of his transitional training."
Rounding out the 49er performances at Clemson, senior Morris LeBlanc came in fourth in the long jump (22'11", 6.98m) and fifth in the triple jump (47'8.5", 14.54m), both indoor personal bests. Freshman Javan Lapp also posted a top-ten finish, completing the 800m in 1.58.95, good for fifth place.
In addition to the record-setting performances at the Clemson Opener, the 49ers had the opportunity to compete at the Appalachian State Indoor Meet Saturday.
"Having the option of sending a squad to Appalachian in addition to Clemson was very valuable as we were able to get a much more comprehensive, team-wide look at where everyone is in their performances," Olesen said.
Junior Toree Roseboro highlighted the women's group at Appalachian, winning the 200m in a personal best 25.38 and finishing fourth in the 55m at 7.15. Women's 400m runners Olivier Brown, Ayan Wyse and Karmel Stapleton also had good starts at fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively, illustrating the team's depth.
On the men's side, sophomore Ryan Thompson placed third in the 400m while also posting an indoor personal best in the triple jump at 46'10.75," a particularly impressive finish considering the approach distance at Appalachian State is almost half of standard facilities. Junior Jarryd Novotni also had a good start in the shot put, pulling in fourth place, while also collecting a personal best in the weight throw. Freshman Jason Roberts backed up Novotni and showed collegiate adjustment in the shot put, tossing a 47'0.25" for eighth place.
The 49ers will return to action January 11-12 at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
