Feb. 18, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, TN -- Raynell Hagberg earned two individual championships and Yanique Booth won the 60m hurdles as the Florida Atlantic University women's track team tallied 119 points in a second-place effort during the Atlantic Sun Championships in Johnson City, TN.

Hagberg paced the 800m field with a time of 2:11.61 and earned the 1,600m title with a time of 4:56.63. Booth crossed the finish line in 8.60 seconds to win the first-ever A-Sun Indoor 60m hurdles title.

"It's one thing to be the best middle-distance runner in the conference, and its another to have a bulls-eye on your back the whole time. For Raynell to deliver when it counts shows a lot of character and poise. A lot of times the fastest people don't win if they can't take the pressure. She came in and ran away from the competition," head coach Alex Smolka said. "It's a great exclamation point on her indoor career."

Booth would later pull her hamstring in the 200m prelims, an event she led when the injury occured.

The Owls would earn several other strong finishes, including a second-place effort (3:54.05) by the 4x400m relay team of Brandi Prather, Lindsay Glover, Marilyn Stephens, and Malika Clary.

Myra Remaly finished 3rd in the pole vault with a vault of 9-00.25, Christina Dutko finished 3rd in the 1,600m with a time of 5:12.89.

Other top performances include Malika Clary (2nd, 56.98) and Marilyn Stephens (3rd, 56.98) in the 400m, as well as Stephen's time of 24.70 in the 200m, good enough for 3rd.

"We really couldn't have asked for anything more. The team when it came time to go, they went as hard as they could and really went above and beyond. As a group we came up a little short, but as individuals you can't expect anything more than to set school records and personal bests," Smolka said.

The strong performances during the indoor season could serve as a spring board for the Owls into the outdoor season, as the team will now focus its attention on preparation for its final A-Sun campaign.

In what Smolka called a unique situation, many members of the FAU squad experienced another first during the weekend - snowfall.

"It's about 27 degrees here and we have about three inches of snow on the ground. For a bunch of South Florida natives, it's been unique," he said.

The Owls will send Hagberg up to a last-chance meet in Gainesville, FL for one final attempt at qualifying at the NCAA Indoor National meet. The rest of the team will have the next few weeks off.

"The coaching staff is extremely proud of the team's accomplishments. It's just another step closer to our ultimate goal," Smolka said. The Owls open their outdoor season on March 4 at UCF.

Pentathlon
Jian Jones 4th, 2907 pts.

60m Hurdle Prelims
Yanique Booth 1st 8.63
Trishauna Clarke 9.59

60m Hurdle Finals
Yanique Booth 1st, 8.60
Trishauna Clarke 6th, 9.92

60m Prelims
Yanique Booth 7.63
Jian Jones 7.86
Trishauna Clarke 7.86

60m Finals
Yanique Booth 2nd, 7.61*

200m
Marilyn Stephens 3rd, 24.70*
Malika Clary 4th, 24.81
Trishauna Clarke 25.52
Yanique Booth INJ

400m
Malika Clary 2nd 56.98*
Marilyn Stephens 3rd, 56.98
Brandi Prather 6th, 57.44
Lindsay Glover 7th, 59.72

800m
Raynell Hagberg 1st, 2:11.61
Christina Dutko 5th, 2:19.98
Artemis Saridakis 11th, 2:24.00
Linn Modin 15th, 2:32.00

1,600m
Raynell Hagberg 1st, 4:56.63*
Christina Dutko 3rd, 5:12.89
Linn Modin 11th, 5:35.40
Amy Springer 18th, 5:50.66

3,000m
Amy Springer 17th, 11:44.47

5,000m
Trisha Doyle 5th, 18:05.92

High Jump
Jian Jones 2nd, 5-3.75*
Linn Modin 9th, 4-7.75

Pole Volt
Myra Remaly 3rd, 9-00.25

Long Jump
Trishauna Clarke 8th, 17-2.00

Triple Jump
Brandi Prather ND

Shot Put
Krystena Castro 1st, 42-6.75*

4x400m Relay
Prather, Glover, Stephens, Clary 2nd, 3:54.05(

DMR
Dutko, Glover, Saridakis, Hagberg 1st, 12:07.78*

*- Denotes School Indoor Record