April 24, 2005

Results

WACO - Behind a first-place finish in the 5,000 meters by freshman Martin Husen, the Lamar men's and women's track and field teams combined for 11 top ten finishes at this weekend's Michael Johnson Classic, hosted by Baylor University at Hart/Patterson Track and Field Complex.

The Cardinals were among a talented 14-team field, which included host Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas of the Big 12 Conference, along with fellow Southland Conference schools Texas State and Texas-San Antonio.

Husen, a 6-1 freshman from Alfeld, Germany, earned his first collegiate victory with a season-best time in the 5,000 meters. His time of 14:52.42 was also a personal record, placing him second on the league's outdoor performance list.

Sophomore Toni Sylvester broke a school record in the women's invitational 400 meters as she blazed to a 54.67, just missing the NCAA regional qualifying mark of 54.61. She placed third in the race with the league's second-best time of the season.

Also performing well for the men was senior Trenton Price, who placed fourth in the invitational division of the 400 meters. Price, a native of Arlington, improved upon his league-leading quarter-mile time and surpassed the NCAA regional qualifying standard for the second straight week by clocking a 47.23. He joined Olympic Gold Medalists Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson in the talented-filled race.

Sophomores Hamish Meacheam and Amanda King each placed second in their respective heats of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Meacheam, a native of Hamilton, New Zealand, clocked a season-best time of 9:40.09, which ranks fourth among the SLC's best. King, originally from Tauranga, New Zealand, turned in a time of 11:25.19 in the women's race.

Fellow distance runners Jacqueline John and Natasha Williams recorded outstanding times in the women's 5,000 meters. John ran LU's fourth-fastest outdoor 5K time en route to a second place finish with a time of 17:19.66. Her time is third among the league's leaders. Williams, a junior from Nederland, placed sixth with a personal-best time of 18:00.40.

Freshman Clerc Koenck continued her impressive rookie campaign by placing fourth in the invitational 1,500-meter run. She ran a season-best time of 4:40.25, an improvement of over five seconds on her previous best.

Hurdler Alexandra Mayfield, also a freshman, raced to a season-best time in the 400-meter hurdles. The Los Fresnos product placed third with a time of 1:03.56. Sprinter Michael Gauthier racked up his fifth top 10 finish of the outdoor season, placing second in the 100 meters with a time of 10.58.

Junior Britney Fesco represented the throwers with a second place finish in the javelin. The Lumberton product recorded a heave of 39.59 meters (129-11), which ranks as her second-best toss of the season.

The Lamar men's and women's track teams next meet is slated for Thursday, Apr. 28, as they host the 44th Annual Exxon/Mobil Ty Terrell Relays. The one-day event will begin at noon at Ty Terrell Track on the LU campus.