April 16, 2011 -- Blue & Silver Challenge

The winds may have helped freshman Jenna Elliott (Fredericksburg, VA) ease in to her High Jump approach as she raised her outdoor PR to 1.63m/5-4 and had three close attempts at a National Qualifier. The clearance makes her CNU’s #2 All-Time High Jumper. On the other end of the field, sophomore Kalee Hammerton (Royersford, PA) negotiated cross winds – usually a Pole Vaulter’s nemesis – to a PR 3.21m/10-6.25 clearance that moved her up to #3 on the All-Time List. In between the vertical venues, Brittany Jacobs (Warrenton, VA) landed her best Long Jump of the year with a little wind assistance (5.42m/17-9.5) to win the event by over a foot. Freshman Caitlin Miller (Huntington, NY) earned a win in the Triple Jump with a PR 10.92m/35-10 effort. The men flew on much stronger winds led by Kwarteng Asare’s (Fairfax, VA) 6.76m/22-2.25 in the Long Jump and 13.75m/45-1.25 in the Triple Jump. Teammate Michael Kitchens (Leesburg, VA) rode a 4.4m/s wind to his first 21’ leap (6.44m/21-1.5). The “king of the wind”, though, was rookie Christopher Mogensen(Natural Bridge, VA) who somehow negotiated a 10m/s (22+ mph!) tailwind to his best mark of the day (11.84m/38-10).

The Hammer Throw was one of the few events unaffected by the gusts and Jonathan Wade (Rocky Mount, VA) spun his third straight 40m meet, adding another foot to his PR and CNU #6 Ranking in the event (40.59m/133-2). Wade went three-for-three with PRs, launching them in the Shot Put (13.05m/42-9.75) and Discus (37.92m/124-4), too. Two other throwers landed PRs – Wilson Bever (Chantilly, VA) in the Javelin (39.32m/129-0) and Meara Goss (Dunn Loring, VA) in the Hammer (29.88m/98-0). None of the short race times were particularly helpful to the sprinters’ and hurdlers’ Mason-Dixon rankings, but from one lap up the Captains established several PRs and season bests. In the men’s 400m, Asare dropped his fastest time of the year by nearly two seconds to 49.95. Shaowei Tu (Mechanicsville, VA) was next across the line in that heat with a PR 50.85. Fellow frosh Doug McClellan (Columbia, MD) won his heat with a PR 53.36. Matthew Winkler (Palmyra, VA) powered to a 1:54.72 finish in the 800m and Corey Lofton (Vienna, VA) slipped under the 2 minute barrier for the first time outdoors (1:59.13) after winning the 1500m in 4:06.69. He later came back to anchor the “B” team 4x400m Relay with a 51.5 leg. Frosh Eric Ginsburg (Loch Arbor, NJ) also earned a PR 4:29.27 in the 1500m. Christopher Lyford (Leesburg, VA) added another win for the Captains as he slashed 11 seconds from his 5k PR to 16:20.29. Dominic Yanger (Reston, VA) improved his 400m Hurdle best to 63.17.

The women’s distance group had a few good marks of their own, including a 5:14.65 debut in the 1500m for Jessica McClelland (Stafford, VA). Emily Whitby(Alexandria, VA) improved her 1500m best to 5:49.08. At 3,000m, Jade Zaharoff (Vienna, VA) slipped under 11 minutes with a 10:59.38 PR. Dira Hansen (Culpeper, VA) and Cheria Jackson (Woodbridge, VA) negotiated a lap full of hurdles to times of 64.60 and 68.54 – the latter a PR for Jackson.

After a weekend off to prepare for Spring Semester finals, the Captains host the Mason-Dixon Conference Championships on April 29-30.

For complete CNU Results, check out the Results Page.