The men’s track and field team captured first place at the 2004 Bulldog Invitational and the Lady Dawgs took second. The men finished on top with a total of 178 points, 66 points better than runner-up Indiana State University. The women finished with 149 points, 31 behind Southwest Missouri State.
The Bulldogs recorded nine regional qualifying marks.
LaChristopher Lewis turned in a time of 10.50 in the 100m. Kendall Pyant II and Jamel Ashley set qualifying marks in the 400m dash; Pyant finished second with 47.14 and Ashley came in fourth with 47.17. Both Pyant and Ashley set their third straight consecutive qualifying mark. Eliott Morant, Ashley, Arthur Davis and Lewis won the 4x100m relay by racing to the finish line in 40.06.
“This was my first collegiate meet. I am happy with my performance, so I feel pretty confident now,” Davis added. “As a team we did a lot of things right.”
Leaping to a distance of 25-0, Pyant II won the long jump, which marked not only his career best, but a regional qualifying mark also. JD Erickson finished first in the shot put with a mark of 56-6 and Matt Whalen took third with a distance of 54-8.
Heaving the discus, Erickson finished second with a qualifying throw of 169-2. Matt Holcomb threw the hammer 185-9 to win the event earned a spot at regionals.
Elmore McConnell finished third in the 800m with a time of 1:50.88, just three-tenths of a second from a regional qualifying mark.
Trey Hardee placed first in the pole vault with a measurement of 15-5. Lewis ran the 200m dash in a time of 20.83 finishing in second.
Matt Denton leaped to 6-8 in the high jump.
“Our field team did exceptionally well,” said javelin thrower Clay Garner. “We had a lot who came extremely close to reaching regional qualifying marks.”
The Lady Bulldog team had a good showing also. Tiffany McWilliams won the 800m with a time of 2:03.23, setting a regional qualifying mark and another W. O. Spencer stadium/Carl Maddox Track record.
Jennifer McPherson turned in the winning time of 4:28.69 in the 1500m. She set a personal best as well as a place at regionals. Zita Magloire finished third in the 1500m and recorded her career best with a time of 4:38.12.
Joy Griffith finished the 5000m run in 18:19.50 allowing her to finish third and set a new personal best.
Kia James, Nicole Dunn, Magloire and McWilliams finished second in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:48.52.
Lauren Johnson turned in a time of 14.26 in the 100m hurdles for third.
Tying at fifth place, Renata Hendrix and Jasmine Walls set career best marks by leaping to a measurement of 5-5.
Lacey Johnson shared third place in the pole vault with a mark of 10-4. James went on to finish with career highs in both the 100m (12.34) and the 200m (25.18).
“Overall the girls had a pretty descent weekend,” a junior thrower, Crystal Averitt said. “Several of us set career high marks.”
Averitt took highest honors in both the discus (148-4) and hammer (171-4) events.
“I was consistent with my performance, but I barely missed the qualifying mark again, so I am not where I want to be,” Averitt said. “We know where I need to be and hope to get there.”
Nicola Wilson finished first in the shot put with a career highest mark of 46-5.
“I had a bad indoor season, so I told myself I could do it,” Wilson said. “I stepped up to the plate and barely missed the regional qualifying mark that I really want to get.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Austin, Texas, tomorrow to compete in the Texas Relays.