December 8, 2012 - CNU's Holiday Open (from CNUsports.com)

Post date: Jan 11, 2013 4:21:16 PM

Rizor and Taylor Help Lead the CNU Indoor Track & Field Teams

to a Strong Effort at the Holiday Open

12/9/2012 1:47:00 AM

Complete Results // Rizor's Mile Run Video // Full Event Videos from the Holiday Open

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Melissa Rizor and Joseph Taylor each cracked CNU's all-time top-10 lists as the Christopher Newport indoor track & field teams completed their first meet of the season with a strong showing during the Holiday Open at the Freeman Center on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the two historic performances, the Captains combined to set 23 personal bests, including a pair of PRs each from Robert Mayes, Anthony Melton, and Olivia Green.

"This was a strong start for us – 23 lifetime bests in a December meet is really good to see," said head coach Tyler Wingard. "We obviously still have a lot of work ahead of us - and this meet helped identify some of those key areas, too – but we showed good focus on the performance elements we have given the most emphasis in our early training. That focus led to a lot of the PRs."

During the women's mile, Rizor pieced together a sensational effort in her very first indoor event. The freshman standout cruised to a time of 5:24.57, which placed her ninth on the program's all-time list. Overall, she finished eighth in the event during the meet. Jessica McClelland also nabbed a top-10 spot in the mile after crossing in 5:28.78.

On the men's side, Taylor kicked off the year in fine fashion with a tremendous performance in the pole vault. During the event, he cleared 4.46 meters, marking the fifth-finest effort in CNU history. That performance also placed him fourth in the event at the Holiday Open. David Fishman cleared 4.16 as well, which was good for seventh at the meet.

Along with Taylor, Aaron Zook and Dominique Torres also collected top-five finishes. In the men's triple jump, Torres placed fourth with a leap of 14.00 meters. Zook placed fifth in the 5k after completing the event in 15:58.95, leading a strong CNU contingent which also saw Josh Showalter, Michael Hoy, and Daniel Austin finish sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.

Among those Captains who posted a pair of PRs, Mayes accomplished the feat in the 60 and 400 meters, while Green did it in the long and triple jumps. Leading the way in the throwing events, Melton had the finest efforts of his career in the shot put and weight throw. In the latter event, he placed eighth with a toss of 12.29-meters. Teammate Kendrick McMinn finished 10th in that event as well.

Christopher Newport will take the next month off before returning to action on January 19 for the beginning of the two-day Captains Invitational at the Freeman Center.

--CNU--

Related Stories from CNUsports.com:

The Indoor Track & Field Season Kicks Off on Saturday with the CNU Holiday Open

http://cnusports.com/news/2012/12/7/TRACK_1207125614.aspx?path=track