Friday, April 18
Rock Hill, S.C.
11:30 AM
Liberty University
at
New Balance Big South Outdoor Track Championships
Liberty Track Wins Four Friday Events
4/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Big South Day 2 Blog
The Liberty men's track & field team won all three events contested on Friday at the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, enabling the Flames to take a 47-point lead in the team standings. Meanwhile, Mia Aghaji's high jump title helped the Lady Flames bump up into second place in the meet being held at Winthrop's Irwin Belk Track in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Liberty men's squad has won four of the first six events contested at the Big South meet and holds a 98-51 advantage over second-place Coastal Carolina. Radford is third with 29 tallies.
On the women's side, Coastal Carolina is still atop the standings, after notching 99 points in the first eight events. Liberty is second with 64 points, just two markers ahead of Charleston Southern.
Liberty closed the evening with a bang, sweeping the top three positions in the last event, the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Evans Kigen (So., Eldoret, Kenya) and Jordan McDougal (R-Jr., Peru, N.Y.) finished first and second, respectively, both coming in under the previous meet-record time and the NCAA East Regional standard. Kigen is now the second-fastest steeplechase performer in program history after clocking an 8:52.90, and McDougal is fourth on Liberty's all-time list at 8:58.84. Jarvis Jelen (R-Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) claimed third place in a personal-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 9:08.36.
Kigen is now No. 8 on the NCAA national performance list in the steeplechase, while McDougal checks in at No. 14.
The Flames swept the top two spots in a competitive men's shot put competition, which saw the meet record eclipsed four times. Jon Hart (Sr., Wyomissing, Pa.) got the last laugh, defending his Big South crown and reclaiming his meet record with his final throw of 56-7.5. The title was Hart's second of the meet, after he prevailed in Thursday's hammer throw, also in meet-record fashion.
Liberty totaled 21 team points in the men's shot put, as Clendon Henderson (Sr., Meadow, Texas) came in as the runner-up for the second consecutive year. His best effort reached 55-11.75. Andrew Bartels (Jr., Grantham, Pa.) was sixth, throwing a 48-6.75.
The Flames also won the decathlon, traditionally a strong event for them. Daniel Newell (Jr., Roanoke, Va.) led from start to finish in the two-day, 10-event competition, finishing with 6,709 points. He is the third different Liberty athlete to claim the Big South decathlon crown in the last three seasons.
Liberty freshman Mia Aghaji (Chester, Va.) required only one jump to win the women's high jump crown. She entered the competition at 5-3.75 and cleared on her first attempt. Without any misses on the afternoon, Aghaji won out over three other athletes who were also successful at 5-3.75. She was additionally the Big South indoor high jump champion during her rookie season with the Lady Flames.
The first event to be completed on a sunny Friday afternoon was the heptathlon. Liberty freshman Krystle Matthews (Chesapeake, Va.) finished second to Coastal Carolina's Elisha Tegeder by 140 points, after briefly taking the lead with a solid javelin effort. Matthews, the Big South indoor pentathlon champion, scored 4,011 points. Classmate Jennifer Healey (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a fourth-place finish, with 3,773 tallies. She won the final discipline of the two-day, seven-event competition, the 800 meters, with a 2:29.96 clocking.
Sophomore Erin Hudson (Whitacre, Va.) claimed the first All-Big South honor of her career in the women's pole vault. Her season-best clearance of 9-5.75 garnered third place, and she edged Winthrop's Tori Lauten on misses.
A number of running event prelims were contested on Friday. Among the highlights was Durell Cull's (So., Rome, N.Y.) 100-meter dash time of 10.81, which was an IC4A qualifier and his best mark with a legal tailwind this season. As a result, he advanced to Saturday's event final. Additionally, Rebekah Ricksecker (Jr., Laurel, Del.) was the fastest qualifier to Saturday's 800-meter final, clocking a 2:13.70.
The third and final day of the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the women's javelin, men's discus, men's high jump and men's pole vault. Running events will get underway at noon, with the women's 4 x 100 relay.
Final Decathlon Results:
1) Daniel Newell, Liberty - 6,709
2) Jack Hutchison, Coastal Carolina - 6,264
3) Steve Harmon, Coastal Carolina - 5,687
4) Tyler Tucker, VMI - 5,477
5) Matt Tarr, Liberty - 5,432
6) Kevin Richards, Radford - 5,377
7) Michael Munson, VMI - 5,339
8) Alex Levy, Coastal Carolina - 5,279
Final Heptathlon Results:
1) Elisha Tegeder, Coastal Carolina - 4,151
2) Krystle Matthews, Liberty - 4,011
3) Channel Futrell, Charleston Southern - 3,905
4) Jennifer Healey, Liberty - 3,773
5) Octavia Best, Charleston Southern - 3,605
6) Sheronica Henton, Liberty - 3,574
7) Mikaela Terry, Coastal Carolina - 3,402
8) Briauna Lowery, High Point - 3,199
9) Lauren Watts, Coastal Carolina - 3,021
The Liberty men's track & field team won all three events contested on Friday at the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, enabling the Flames to take a 47-point lead in the team standings. Meanwhile, Mia Aghaji's high jump title helped the Lady Flames bump up into second place in the meet being held at Winthrop's Irwin Belk Track in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Liberty men's squad has won four of the first six events contested at the Big South meet and holds a 98-51 advantage over second-place Coastal Carolina. Radford is third with 29 tallies.
On the women's side, Coastal Carolina is still atop the standings, after notching 99 points in the first eight events. Liberty is second with 64 points, just two markers ahead of Charleston Southern.
Liberty closed the evening with a bang, sweeping the top three positions in the last event, the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Evans Kigen (So., Eldoret, Kenya) and Jordan McDougal (R-Jr., Peru, N.Y.) finished first and second, respectively, both coming in under the previous meet-record time and the NCAA East Regional standard. Kigen is now the second-fastest steeplechase performer in program history after clocking an 8:52.90, and McDougal is fourth on Liberty's all-time list at 8:58.84. Jarvis Jelen (R-Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) claimed third place in a personal-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 9:08.36.
Kigen is now No. 8 on the NCAA national performance list in the steeplechase, while McDougal checks in at No. 14.
The Flames swept the top two spots in a competitive men's shot put competition, which saw the meet record eclipsed four times. Jon Hart (Sr., Wyomissing, Pa.) got the last laugh, defending his Big South crown and reclaiming his meet record with his final throw of 56-7.5. The title was Hart's second of the meet, after he prevailed in Thursday's hammer throw, also in meet-record fashion.
Liberty totaled 21 team points in the men's shot put, as Clendon Henderson (Sr., Meadow, Texas) came in as the runner-up for the second consecutive year. His best effort reached 55-11.75. Andrew Bartels (Jr., Grantham, Pa.) was sixth, throwing a 48-6.75.
The Flames also won the decathlon, traditionally a strong event for them. Daniel Newell (Jr., Roanoke, Va.) led from start to finish in the two-day, 10-event competition, finishing with 6,709 points. He is the third different Liberty athlete to claim the Big South decathlon crown in the last three seasons.
Liberty freshman Mia Aghaji (Chester, Va.) required only one jump to win the women's high jump crown. She entered the competition at 5-3.75 and cleared on her first attempt. Without any misses on the afternoon, Aghaji won out over three other athletes who were also successful at 5-3.75. She was additionally the Big South indoor high jump champion during her rookie season with the Lady Flames.
The first event to be completed on a sunny Friday afternoon was the heptathlon. Liberty freshman Krystle Matthews (Chesapeake, Va.) finished second to Coastal Carolina's Elisha Tegeder by 140 points, after briefly taking the lead with a solid javelin effort. Matthews, the Big South indoor pentathlon champion, scored 4,011 points. Classmate Jennifer Healey (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a fourth-place finish, with 3,773 tallies. She won the final discipline of the two-day, seven-event competition, the 800 meters, with a 2:29.96 clocking.
Sophomore Erin Hudson (Whitacre, Va.) claimed the first All-Big South honor of her career in the women's pole vault. Her season-best clearance of 9-5.75 garnered third place, and she edged Winthrop's Tori Lauten on misses.
A number of running event prelims were contested on Friday. Among the highlights was Durell Cull's (So., Rome, N.Y.) 100-meter dash time of 10.81, which was an IC4A qualifier and his best mark with a legal tailwind this season. As a result, he advanced to Saturday's event final. Additionally, Rebekah Ricksecker (Jr., Laurel, Del.) was the fastest qualifier to Saturday's 800-meter final, clocking a 2:13.70.
The third and final day of the 2008 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the women's javelin, men's discus, men's high jump and men's pole vault. Running events will get underway at noon, with the women's 4 x 100 relay.
Final Decathlon Results:
1) Daniel Newell, Liberty - 6,709
2) Jack Hutchison, Coastal Carolina - 6,264
3) Steve Harmon, Coastal Carolina - 5,687
4) Tyler Tucker, VMI - 5,477
5) Matt Tarr, Liberty - 5,432
6) Kevin Richards, Radford - 5,377
7) Michael Munson, VMI - 5,339
8) Alex Levy, Coastal Carolina - 5,279
Final Heptathlon Results:
1) Elisha Tegeder, Coastal Carolina - 4,151
2) Krystle Matthews, Liberty - 4,011
3) Channel Futrell, Charleston Southern - 3,905
4) Jennifer Healey, Liberty - 3,773
5) Octavia Best, Charleston Southern - 3,605
6) Sheronica Henton, Liberty - 3,574
7) Mikaela Terry, Coastal Carolina - 3,402
8) Briauna Lowery, High Point - 3,199
9) Lauren Watts, Coastal Carolina - 3,021
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