April 19, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

Michelle Sikes continued her stellar senior campaign on Thursday, breaking a 23-year old ACC record in the 10,000-meter run on the first day of the ACC Outdoor Championships hosted by the University of Maryland.  The women's team stands in fourth place with 17 points while the men are in seventh with two points after the opening day of competition.

Sikes, a three-time All-American and a Rhodes Scholar, ran a time of 32:58.20 in the event which won the race and was also good for a new school record, breaking Anne Bersagels' previous standard of 33:02.13.  Junior Caitlin Chrisman also scored for the Deacs in the event, placing seventh in a time of 34:52.38.

The remaining points on the women's side came from a fourth place result in the javelin from Carly Mauch.  The sophomore shattered her personal best in the event with a toss of 142-08. 

On the men's side, senior Michael Hauck scored the first points of the competition for the Deacs in the men's javelin.  The Brookline, Mass., native had a best throw of 188-01 in the event, good for seventh place overall.

Junior Molly Kennedy stands in seventh place after the first day of events in the heptathlon.  The Nashville native currently has 3,010 points, about 300 points off the leader Christina Smith of Maryland.  Kennedy's day was highlighted by fourth-place results in the shot put (39-08) and the 200-meter dash (25.62).  The heptathlon resumes tomorrow with the long jump at 11 a.m.

Additionally, the Deacon tandem of freshman Tyler Dodds and sophomore Taylor Wildman were both participating in the decathlon.  After the first day Dodds stands in sixth place with 3,517 points while Wildman is close behind in eighth with 3,265 points.  Dodds fared extremely well in the sprints on the day, winning the 400-meter dash (49.15) and placing second in the competition's first event, the 100-meter dah (11.01).  The second and final day of the decathlon begins on Friday at 10 a.m. with the 110-meter hurdles.

The 2007 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships continue through Saturday at the Kehoe Track Complex on the Maryland campus. 

- WakeForestSports.com -