March 31, 2012 -- Commonwealth Duals

Post date: Apr 29, 2012 12:26:28 AM

Head-to-head team competition is an endangered species in modern collegiate Track & Field. Trying to buck the trend, the Captains invited some of their Virginia rivals to a multi-dual meet at Pomoco Stadium.

CNU Women Sweep Inaugural Commonwealth Duals

Men Split Head-To-Head Meets

The old fashioned dual meet has become a rare occurrence in collegiate Track & Field - two teams lining up their best for head-to-head competition has been mostly replaced with large multi-team invitationals that occasionally keep championship style scores. The Captains invited the Div. III schools of the Virginia Commonwealth to revive the sport's dual meet tradition and found takers in Lynchburg, Washington & Lee, Mary Washington, and Virginia Wesleyan. All five teams would score head-to-head in each of the 10 pairings. Track events were set up so that the top competitors from each school were in the featured section to further enhance the direct team competition. CNU's women finished the day on top of the standings with a 4-0 record while the men finished 2-2, suffering close losses to Lynchburg (84-75) and Washington & Lee (86-76).

Kalee Hammerton

The women scored over 100 points against each of their four guests, powered by 8 over-all event victories. Fredsal Walker (Herndon, VA) took part in three of those victories. She ran a strong 100m Hurdles and posted a 15.09 second result then added a 200m victory in a PR 26.11. She also carried the baton for 60.1 seconds on the third leg of the winning 4x400m Relay (4:06.99) to close out the day.

Dira Hansen (Culpeper, VA) anchored the 4x4 after claiming a win in the 800m (2:24.67) and a runner-up finish in her 1500m debut (5:01.34). Cheria Jackson (Woodbridge, VA) added another sprint win with a 12.92 in the 100m and Enuma Ezenwa (Herndon, VA) added a PR behind her in 13.59 and debuted in the 400m Hurdles with a third place 68.46.

Kalee Hammerton (Royersford, VA) cleared 11' for the first time and improved her standing as CNU's #2 All-Time Pole Vaulter. She also earned 5 points in each of the dual meets as the over-all winner at 3.36m/11-0.25. Lauren Snell (Chesapeake, VA) was 3rd at 3.06m/10-0.5 and Taylor McCord (Springfield, VA) cleared a PR 2.21m/7-3. McCord also ran a three second PR 62.04 for 3rd in the 400m.

The Captains also went 1-3 in the High Jump as Jenna Elliott (Fredericksburg, VA) had enough to win (1.53m/5-0.25) and Noel Bartley (Waynesboro, VA) cleared 1.43m/4-8.25 before just missing a PR at the next height. Caitlin Miller (Huntington, NY) added a second place finish in the Triple Jump (10.51m/34-5.75) and a third in the Long Jump with a PR 4.74m/15-6.75.

In the throws, Jill Raines (Jeffersonton, VA) and Valerie Washington (Charlottesville, VA) combined for a 1-2 finish in the Hammer (35.48m/116-5 and 35.24m/115-7, respectively). Washington added a third in the Shot Put (1.45m/34-3.5) and Raines a PR in the Discus (25.79m/84-7). Bartley also inched a PR in the Shot Put (8.72m/28-7.5). Taryn Langley (Hopewell, VA) (25.02m/82-1) and Danielle Crowley (Rockville, MD) (22.91m/75-2) each slung PRs in the Javelin.

Julie Machamer (Norfolk, VA) (12:55.16), Sarah Russell (Manassas, VA) (13:01.27), and Emily Whitby (Alexandria, VA) (13:51.79) finished 2-3-4 and all PRed to improve their #6-#8 rankings on CNU's All-Time List. Jade Zaharoff (Vienna, VA) raced to second in the 5,000m at 19:01.01.

On the men's side, Decathlete Richard Roethel (Farmingville, NY) opened his outdoor season in mostly field events. He posted victories in the High Jump (2.00m/6-6.75), Pole Vault (4.10m/13-5.25), Long Jump (6.68m/21-11), and Javelin (54.14m/177-7 PR). The Javelin mark improved his #3 standing on the CNU All-Time List. In his one track event, he finished runner-up in the 110m Hurdles (15.28).

Behind Roethel, Christopher Comeau (Chesapeake, VA) cleared an outdoor best 3.95m/12-11.5 in the Pole Vault for second place and tossed a PR 33.50m/109-11 in the Javelin. Kendrick McMinn (Virginia Beach, VA) made his debut in the Javelin with a 41.78m/137-1 effort to edge Tony Harris' (Gainesville, VA) PR 39.28m/128-10. That duo also PRed in the Hammer with McMinn at 34.55m/113-4 and Harris at 28.86m/94-8. Jonathon Wade (Rocky Mount, VA) led the Captains in the Hammer with a 41.01m/134-6 landing. Harris earned a third PR in the Discus (26.31m/86-4).

The mid-distance crew had a strong showing with Nick Hedrick (Falls Church, VA) and Samuel Martin (Rockville, MD) going 1-2 in the 800m. Hedrick edged his teammate with a PR and CNU #10 All-Time 1:55.47. Martin leaned in at 1:56.03. In the 1500m, Christopher Allen (Reston, VA) led the Captains with a PR 4:08.44 in fourth place over-all. Michael Hoy (Mechanicsville, VA) followed him across the line with a debut 4:09.30. Daniel Austin (Culpeper, VA) (4:17.01), Andrew Larkin (Herndon, VA) (4:18.00), and Patrick Cunningham (Williamsburg, VA) (4:35.76) all followed with PRs. Daniel Richard (Manassas, VA) made a 35 second improvement in his second Steeplechase (10:30.07) and finished fourth. Jonathan Fox (Chester, VA) dropped nearly 20 seconds from his debut time (11:18.55).

In the sprints, Robert Mayes (Culpeper, VA) claimed a pair of third place finishes with big PRs in the 100m (11.16) and 200m (22.62). Still waiting to return to vaulting as his shoulder heals, Joseph Taylor (Prince George, VA) added a PR 24.10 in the half-lap. Nathan Joyce (Ft. Belvoir, VA) claimed another third for the Captains in the 400m with a PR 50.71 to hold off teammate Matt Gaddy's (Stafford, VA) 50.85. Scott Teribury (Woodbridge, VA) covered the lap with hurdles in 58.24.

All told, the CNU made another six changes to the All-Time Lists and registered 32 new Personal Records on the day. Final CNU team scores on the day:

Women:

CNU def. Lynchburg (101-58)

CNU def. Washington & Lee (101-61)

CNU def. Mary Washington (117-45)

CNU def. VA Wesleyan (120-39)

Men:

Lynchburg def. CNU (84-75)

Washington & Lee def. CNU (86-76)

CNU def. Mary Washington (102.5-57.5)

CNU def. VA Wesleyan (114-39)

Next up, a select group of Captains will make the short trip up the road to Williamsburg for the Colonial Relays on April 6-7.