Dec. 5, 2005
ASU Indoor Opener FINAL RESULTS
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Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina Track & Field team opened the 2005-06 indoor season by recording 17 podium performances, which included six first-place finishes, Sunday afternoon at the Appalachian Indoor Invitational Sunday in Boone, N.C. The 17, top three finishes ranked second among the 10 schools competing in the non-team scored event.
"In this first meet of the season, we saw where some of our athletes improved upon where they were this time last year and it was a good test for our younger athletes. But, we could have done numerous things better," said head coach Danny Willimason. "Overall, though, this is a good measuring stick and gives both the coaches and student-athletes a good idea of what they need to do to contend for a championship, which is our ultimate goal.
On the women's side, defending Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, sophomore Raquel Ramseur, returned to form with a first-place run in the 400-meter dash, tripping the tape 55.70 to set her career-best. She was closely followed by teammates Asia Davis (3rd, 57.48) and Brooke Saddler (4th, 59.27). Another second-year runner, sophomore Kerrie Savery, also recorded a first-place finish in the women's 800-meter run. The Palm Harbor, Fla, native recorded a time of 2:18.24 to win the event by nearly a full two seconds over the second place finisher. Western's Annie Bailey and Elizabeth Prevette ran fifth and sixth, respectively, in the event with times of 2:26 and 2:27.
Western's women recorded a third, first-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Saddler, Ramseur, Davis, and sophomore Tangelia Johnson completed the four circuits in a time of 3:57, a full six seconds quicker than the second place squad. A second Catamount team, consisting of Bailey, freshman Aneesha Lane, junior Brittany Whitaker, and senior Cassie Gentry, placed fourth in the same event with a total time of 4:17.
In addition to teaming for a first place finish, Johnson also ran well individually. She was twice Western's top finisher in two separate events, finishing second in the women's 55-meter dash with a career-best time of 7.11, and tied her career-best time of 25.76 in the 200-meter dash. In the jumping events, senior Tiffany Mack led the way with finishes of fifth in both the long and triple jumps, recording marks of 5.39 meters (17-8.25) and 11.03 meters (36-2.25), respectively. Junior Sharhonda Bell and sophomore Nicole Lopez flip-flopped the top finisher in the shot put and weight throw, with Bell finishing fourth in the shot (12.61m, 41-4.5) and Lopez placing fifth in the weight throw (14.23m, 46-8.25)
In the men's competition, Western also recorded a trio of first-place finishes, led by senior Lawrence Briscoe. The Charlotte, N.C., native won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.61. Matt Harlfinger finished fifth (8.03), with Mike Malone (8.08) and Ashten Bennett (8.11) placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Freshman Manteo Mitchell claimed his first individual event championship by winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.58, edging out two runners from Appalachian.
As in the women's competition, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Mitchell, Milton Bolton, James Gregory and Zeb Johnson also took the top spot, tying ASU with identical times of 3:26. A second Western team, consisting of senior Charleton Grant, sophomore Ogden Hansford, freshman Chris Gaillard, and sophomore Duke Craig, finished third, two seconds in arrears at 3:28.
Defending outdoor track & field men's Freshman of the Year, Zeb Johnson, posted a pair of second-place finishes on Saturday, taking the runner-up spot in both the 55-meter (6.36) and 200-meter dash (22.34). His time in the 55-meter dash was his indoor career-best, improving by one-hundreths of a second over his top time a year ago at the same track, while his 200-meter time was identical to his best mark as a frosh, set at Clemson at the end of last January. Junior Tyler Ferguson finished eighth in the long jump (6.68m, 21-11) and a team-best third in the triple jump with a distance of 14.51m (47-7.25). In the field events, sophomore Jerod Kelly and junior Willie Sturgis traded the top WCU finisher honors with Kelly posting a second-place finish in the shot put (14.61m, 47-11.25m) and Sturgis finishing fourth in the weight throw (15.31m, 50-2.75).
Western Carolina First-place Finishes: Women's 400-meter dash: Raquel Ramseur (55.70) Women's 800-meter run: Kerrie Savery (2:18.24) Women's 4x400-meter relay: B. Saddler, R. Ramseur, A. Davis, T. Johnson(3:57) Men's 400-meter dash: Manteo Mitchell (49.58) Men's 55-meter hurdles: Lawrence Briscoe (7.61) Men's 4x400-meter relay: M. Bolton, M. Mitchell, J. Gregory, Z. Johnson (3:26)Other WCU Top 10 Finshes: Women's 55m Dash: Tangelia Johnson, 2nd (7.11) Raquel Ramseur, 5th (7.33) Cassie Gentry, 9th (7.43) Women's 200m Dash: Tangelia Johnson, 3rd (25.76) Women's 400m Dash: Asia Davis, 3rd (57.48) Brooke Saddler, 4th (59.27) Women's 800m Run: Annie Bailey, 5th (2:26.26) Elizabeth Prevette, 6th (2:27.93) Women's 55m Hurdles: Asia Davis, 3rd (8.41) Tiffany Mack, 4th (8.44) Rachel Glasgow, 9th (9.22) 4x400m Relay: WCU `B', 4th (4:17.0) A. Lane, B. Whitaker, A. Bailey, C. Gentry Women's Pole Vault: Jesse Wilson , 4th (3.05m) Women's Long Jump: Tiffany Mack, 5th (5.39m) Brittany Whitaker, 6th (5.29m) Women's Triple Jump: Tiffany Mack, 5th (11.03m) Women's Shot Put: Sharhonda Bell, 4th (12.61m) Nicole Lopez, 10th (11.36m) Women's Weight Throw: Nicole Lopez, 5th (14.23m) Sharhonda Bell, 6th (14.06m)Men's 55m Dash: Zeb Johnson, 2nd (6.36) Manteo Mitchell, 3rd (6.46) Mike Malone, 5th (6.52) Kevin Johnson, 7th (6.54) Charleton Grant, 10th (6.69) Men's 200m Dash: Zeb Johnson, 2nd (22.34) Mike Malone, 5th (22.62) James Gregory, 7th (22.68) Men's 400m Dash: Charleton Grant, 6th (51.00) James Gregory, 9th (51.40) Ogden Hansford, 10th (51.63) Men's 55m Hurdles: Matt Harlfinger, 5th (8.03) Mike Malone, 7th (8.08) Ashten Bennett, 8th (8.11) Men's 4x400m Relay: WCU `B', 3rd (3:28) C. Grant, O. Hansford, C. Gaillard, D. Craig Men's Pole Vault: Wes Willoughby, 3rd (4.40m) Christian Benson, 5th (4.10m) Men's Long Jump: Chris Gaillard, 6th (6.80m) Tyler Ferguson, 8th (6.68m) Men's Triple Jump: Tyler Ferguson, 3rd (14.51m) Rod Palmer, 9th (13.55m) Men's Shot Put: Jerod Kelly, 2nd (14.61m) Chris Page, 8th (12.71m) Men's Weight Throw: Willie Sturgis, 4th (15.31m) Jerod Kelly, 7th (13.89m)
