February 5, 2011 -- VMI Winter Invitational

Post date: Feb 17, 2011 11:56:01 PM

The Captain’s traveled to Lexington, VA for VMI’s Winter Invitational in “The Pit”. With a notoriously slow track, the emphasis was on racing well and execution in the field events. The Captains were sharp on both accounts claiming 10 top-3 finishes, 10 PRs, a CNU All-Time Performance, and a National Qualifier.

Jacobs Meets Provisional Standard

Captains Claim Four Event Victories in VMI’s “Pit”

Putting the sport of Track & Field under a roof spawned many unique venue configurations. “The Pit” at VMI started out as a horse stable before becoming their basketball arena. Now it holds a squared-off three-lane track pressed up against the walls (and under the bleachers) with banked corners and “turns” that are more accurately described as short, side-sloped straight-aways. The field events are "efficiently" packed in to the limited infield space with a warning to all contestants to be on high alert at all times (especially when weights and shots are flying towards the pole vaulters). It is old school indoor Track & Field when you travel to Lexington.

A straight runway and some sand is all Brittany Jacobs (Warrenton, VA) needed to get her work done. She started the day with a win

in the Long Jump and a mark that puts her name on the National Qualifiers List (5.48m/17-11.75). That was a PR by almost 4”. Dira Hansen(Culpeper, VA) finished second with a 5.29m/17-4.25 measurement. The pair swept the Triple Jump, too, with Jacobs landing about an inch shy of her indoor best (10.88m/35-8.5) and Hansen close behind at 10.79m/35-4.75. Dira Hansen got a win for herself in the 400m. Her 61.59 was only 0.8 second shy of her PR – a remarkable feat in The Pit.

For the men, Kwarteng Asare (Fairfax, VA) finished runner-up in the Long Jump with a season best 6.65m/21-10 (just one centimeter out of first) and added a 13.47m/44-2.5 effort in the Triple Jump for 4^th place. Michael Kitchens(Leesburg, VA) got his first 20-footer in the Long Jump (6.14m/20-1.75) and Christopher Mogensen (Natural Bridge, VA) continued his improvements in the Triple Jump (11.14m/36-6.75).

Most of the Pole Vault runway was straight and other than a few stray throwing implements bouncing through the women’s competition, the vaulters were able to get their work done. Both Kalee Hammerton (Royersford, PA) and Taryn Langley (Hopewell, VA) cleared 2.90m/9-6.25. For Langley it was another PR and an improvement on her #7 position on CNU’s All-Time List. Joseph Taylor (Prince George, VA) cleared a season best and near-PR 4.15m/13-7.25 for 3^rd place while freshman Christopher Comeau (Chesapeake, VA) added a couple inches to his PR with a successful jump at 3.70m/12-1.5.

Corey Lofton (Vienna, VA) raced to a convincing win in the Mile in 4:30.66 over competitors seeded with 4:20-range times. He doubled back in the 800m with a 2:02.56 behind Shaowei Tu’s (Mechanicsville, VA) 3^rd place 2:01.87. In the women’s Mile, frosh Jessica McClelland (Stafford, VA) made her indoor debut with a 4^th place 5:47.09. Fellow rookie Ashley Doerner (Fairfax Station, VA) finished in a PR 6:34.86.In the longest individual event of the day, Jade Zaharoff (Vienna, VA) was just off her PR in the 3,000m with a hard-earned 11:07.78. Scott Wright (Oak Hill, VA) finished just under his previous best in the men’s event (10:26.96).

Cheria Jackson (Woodbridge, VA) had a great day in the straight events placing 6^th in the 55m Dash (PR 7.58) and 7^th in the Hurdles (9.23 after a PR 9.14 to qualify for finals). In the throws, the Captains got a PR performance out of Adrianna Carter (Williamsburg, VA) in the Shot Put. Her 11.02m/36-2 placed 4^th in the event. She also had a solid 12.34m/40-6 effort in the Weight Throw, placing 8^th. In the men’s Weight Throw, Jonathon Wade (Rocky Mount, VA) landed the 35 pound ball and bag just a foot shy of his PR and finished 7^th (12.64m/41-5.75).

The Captains return home for the Vince Brown Invitational which serves as the final tune-up before the indoor Mason-Dixon Conference Championships.

For complete CNU Results, check out the Results Page.