The ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ track and field team posted its highest finish ever in the Southern Conference championship meet.
“It was amazing on how well we performed this weekend,” said ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ head track and field coach Mark Elliston. “I’m so proud of them, they did great overall. Had a lot of great performances with six conference champions and a lot of school records.”
The Phoenix had six conference champions overall at the two-day meet, its highest total ever since earning five SoCon individual outdoor crowns in 2011.
Sophomore Megan Kirschling set a new SoCon outdoor record in the high jump, winning the event with a mark of 5’10.5″ (1.79m). Teammate Haley Laird was the runner up after clearing the bar with a new personal-best height of 5’7″ (1.70m). Kirschling’s mark moves her into No. 26 on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying list for the NCAA Preliminary round on May 29 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Freshman Bréanna Warren set a new school record in the discus throw, winning the event with a mark of 153’2″ (46.68m). Warren, who came into the meet with the second-best mark in school history in the event, set the school record on her second throw of the day.
Another league championship and school record fell in the 400-meters as senior Bria Bell blazed past the competition. Bell clocked a time of 53.95 in the race, beating her previous personal-record of 55.14. Sophomore Jennifer Pash was fifth in the race with a new personal-record of 56.30. Bell’s time moved her to 25th on the East qualifying list.
ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Sydney Griffin and Jennifer Esposito swept the hurdle races for ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ in the 100-meters and 400-meters, respectively. Griffin easily claimed the league title with a time of 13.83 while Esposito broke her own school record after breaking under the minute barrier with a time of 59.60. Veronica Luedke (fifth, 1:01.78) and Samantha Brown (sixth, 1:02.89) also scored for the Phoenix in the 400-meter hurdles.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Simone Jackson, Pash, Bell and Griffin earned All-SoCon accolades with a third-place standing time of 46.61. Kimberly Johansen became the second-fastest performer at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ in the 1,500-meters with a new personal-best time of 4:31.95, receiving All-Freshman honors.
Another freshman, Carrie Abraham, recorded the second-best mark in school history in the triple jump with a leap of 39’10.5″ (12.15m). She also earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Charlise Morgan earned All-league honors in the shot put after finishing third with a heave of 45’8.50″. Fellow senior Allyson Oram also earned All-SoCon accolades with a top three finish in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:08.32.