Dec. 2, 2007

CLEMSON, S.C. - On Saturday, the Kennesaw State women's track & field team concluded their first meet at the Clemson Opener by having two athletes break school records in the shot put and triple jump.

Starting off the in the morning, freshman Jessica Lumpkin broke her second record of the weekend, as she smashed the previous indoor (35-9.5ft.) shot put record with a distance of 38-4.75ft. Lumpkin made the record setting throw on her first attempt. The day before she set the KSU weight throw record with a distance of 44-0.5ft.

"This was a real great weekend for Jessica," said field coach Mike Goss. "She was able to set two school records in two days. I didn't expect anything less from her. She is an amazing addition to this team."

Later, in the triple jump event, freshman Jill Arthur set a new school record, as she jumped a distance of 37-7.75ft. The talented first year athlete was all over the field this weekend, as she competed in numerous jump and sprint competitions.

"Jill is a great competitor," said sprints coach Devin West. "I could tell that she was really nervous before the meet, but she pulled it together and had a great weekend. Jill's greatest quality is her enthusiasm. She trusts in what the coaching staff tells her and she makes it work on the field."

On the other side of the field, sophomore Shantela Davis turned in a number of good times for short distance races. First for the 200 meter run she crossed the finish line with a time of 26.17 and then the 400m dash she broke into the top ten with a eighth place finish (57.81). She was closely followed in both events by junior Sandi Brown, who finished with a time of 27.43 for the 200m dash and 1:02.27 for the 400m dash.

In mid-distance events the Owls had three runners break into the top ten for the 1-mile race, as sophomore Soibhan Wolcott placed sixth with a time of 5:28.81, freshman Kristen Gibson placed seventh with a time of 5:30.40 and Caitlin German came in ninth place with a time of 5:36.86. In the 3 kilometer run sophomore Britany Reilly placed sixth with a time of 11:01.68.

To close out competition at the Clemson Opener KSU had two teams run in the women's 4x400m race. First the team of Lakeshia Stinson, Davis, Wolcott and Brown completed the race with a time of 4:08.48 and then the team of Gibson, German, Arthur and Jakia Ragland closed out the day with a time of 4:40.81.

"Our ladies performed very well this weekend," said head coach Don McGarey. "We have some very talented sprinters and jumpers on this team. All of our ladies have worked hard to get to this point and I'm very proud of them. Also this weekend gave us the chance to see where everyone was at physically and now we can adjust our training accordingly."

The Owls will be back in action on January 12th as they travel to the UNC Opener in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Clemson Opener Individual Results

200m Dash
23. Shantela Davis 26.17
44. Sandi Brown 27.43
47. Jakia Ragland 27.64

400m Dash
8. Shantela Davis 57.81
36. Sandi Brown 1:02.27

1-Mile Run
6. Soibhan Wolcott 5:28.81
7. Kristen Gibson 5:30.40
9. Caitlin German 5:36.86

3k Run
6. Britany Reilly 11:01.68
18. Lorena Jaime 12:00.86

4x400m Relay
19. KSU "A" team 4:08.48
28. KSU "B" team 4:20.81

Triple Jump
6. Jill Arthur 37-7.75ft.

Shot Put
11. Jessica Lumpkin 38-4.75ft.

Weight Throw
8. Jessica Lumpkin 44-0.5ft.