March 25-26, 2011 -- VMI/Washington & Lee Track & Field Carnival
Post date: Apr 8, 2011 5:57:38 PM
Cold weather could not stop the Captains from producing 32 Personal Records, 2 Meet Records, and 2 National Qualifiers at the VMI/Washington & Lee Track & Field Carnival. In all, CNU claimed 8 event wins and another 8 top-3 finishes.
Captains Produce 32 PRs In Lexington
Roethel & Asare Earn National Qualifiers
Bill Bowerman once claimed that there is no such thing as bad weather – just soft people. Heading in to a meet where snow was a possibility, the Captains were reminded that careful preparation can overcome most obstacles and proved that cold air and a bit of wind could be easily managed. Leaving Lexington with 16 top-3 finisher’s shirts and 32 PRs as well as two new National Qualifiers, the Captains were definitely not soft.
While still easing back in to full training after a 3rd place finish in the National Championships Pentathlon – and balancing Spring Football practices – sophomore Richard Roethel (Farmingville, NY) looked to get an early qualifier in the Decathlon. His first day was solid with good marks in every event and one PR (a 12.48m/40-11.5 throw in the Shot Put) amassing 3657 points. Day 2 played out very much the same with all of his performances near his bests and one PR in the throws (a 36.31m/119-1 toss in the Discus). That steady effort added up to an Automatic Qualifier for this year’s Outdoor Nationals and a new Meet Record – 6759 points.
The Captains’ other qualifier came on day two of the meet in the Triple Jump. Junior Kwarteng Asare (Fairfax, VA) bounced to a Meet Record 14.32m/46-11.75 to add his name to the National List. He had a good first day, too, with a runner-up finish in the Long Jump at 6.69m/21-11.5. Michael Kitchens (Leesburg, VA) landed a PR 6.21m/20-4.5 in the Long Jump and a near-best 13.28m/43-7 for 3rd in the Triple Jump. Christopher Mogensen (Natural Bridge, VA) hopped a Long Jump best (5.53m/18-1.75).The women also had a great weekend in the sand as Brittany Jacobs (Warrenton, VA) won the Long Jump (5.22m/17-1.5) and finished 2nd in the Triple Jump (10.74m/35-3). Cheria Jackson (Woodbridge, VA) was runner-up in the LJ (5.08m/16-8), frosh Jenna Elliot (Fredericksburg, VA) added over a foot to her best (4.77m/15-7.75) as did fellow rookie Noel Bartley(Waynesboro, VA) (4.18m/13-8.75). Taryn Langley (Hopewell, VA) edged out her younger teammate with a PR 4.21m/13-9.75. Caitlin Miller (Huntington, NY) had to wait until Saturday – Day 2 of the Heptathlon – to get her Long Jump PR (4.58m/15-0.5).
In the vertical jumps, Elliott matched her outdoor best 1.62m/5-3.75 to win the High Jump and moved up to #4 on the CNU All-Time List. Joseph Taylor (Prince George, VA) added a couple inches to his PR and improved his #4 status in CNU History with a winning 4.40m/14-5.25 Pole Vault clearance. David Fishman (Springfield, VA) matched his collegiate best and CNU #8 height of 4.10m/13-5.25. Kalee Hammerton (Royersford, PA) finished second in the women’s even with a 3.05m/10-0 vault.
The distance squad had a fantastic weekend with some of their best performances reserved for the final events each day. The men’s 10,000m capped day one – with a 9:50pm start time. Veteran William Kirk (Mechanicsville, VA) rolled through his 25 laps in his usually steady fashion and was rewarded with a 27 second PR (33:15.35). That moves him up to the #4 Ranking in CNU History. Freshman Patrick Cunningham (Williamsburg, VA) made his debut at #6 on the CNU List with a 33:32.89 run. Senior Andrew Giordano (Great Falls, VA) was way ahead of his PR pace, but was stopped a lap short (34:41.09 for 24 laps compared to a 38:36.77 PR). Day two ended with the 4x800m Relay where Shaowei Tu (Mechanicsville, VA) closed a big gap on the third leg (1:56.8) and Matthew Winkler (Palmyra, VA) closed out the win over VMI with a back-and-forth battle over the final two laps (1:55.7) to finish in 7:58.48.
In the open 800m, Scott Teribury (Woodbridge, VA) led the Captains with a PR 1:58.04. Raymond Gamache (King George, VA) ran 7 seconds faster than his previous best (2:05.05) after dropping 20 seconds from his outdoor 5k PR (15:39.99) the night before. Scott Wright (Oak Hill, VA) added a two-lap best 2:12.02 and Emily Whitby (Alexandria, VA) did the same for the women (2:46.17). Christopher Lyford (Leesburg, VA) cut his best by 27 seconds to 16:31.90 at 5,000m and at 3,000m – plus hurdles and water jumps – Joshua Bowling (Crewe, VA) earned an 11 second Steeplechase PR (10:13.46). Garrick Clemente (Haymarket, VA) ran a PR 4:18.54 in the 1500m.
Kristen Bell (Vienna, VA) had a great day in the sprints as she posted a PR 12.99 in the 100m for 3rd place, got her first sub-60 to win the 400m (59.58), and finished her work with a win in the 200m at 26.57 – just a tenth of a second off her PR. Brittany Schanck (Leesburg, VA) followed her in the 200m with a PR 29.20. In the 400m, Meaghan Grant (Fairfax, VA) knocked a couple seconds from her previous best to 1:06.48 and Cheria Jackson just missed hers (1:03.50).For the men, Shaowei Tu ran a near-best 50.92 lap and Douglas McLellan (Columbia, MD) improved his PR by half of a second (54.27). Brandon Evans (Stafford, VA) picked up two PRs with an 11.51 in the 100m and a 23.75 in the 200m. Michael Kitchens ran a PR 11.92 in the shorter dash. Rookie Dominic Yanger (Reston, VA) made a two second improvement in his second run over the 400m Hurdles (1:03.70).
On the throws field, Jonathan Wade (Rocky Mount, VA) spun two PRs: 37.88m/124-3 in the Discus and 40.30m/132-2 in the Hammer. The latter moves him to #6 on the CNU All-Time List. Jill Raines (Jeffersonton, VA) added a foot to her Discus best (25.69m/84-3) and Meara Goss (Dunn Loring, VA) made a big improvement in her second attempt at the Hammer Throw (28.98m/95-1).
For complete CNU Results, check out the Results Page.
