Friday, April 17
Radford, Va.
11:00 AM
Liberty University
at
New Balance Big South Outdoor Track Championships
Bryant, Newell, Williams Take Down Records
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Day 2 Blog
The Liberty trio of Anthony Bryant, Daniel Newell and Marie Williams all shattered meet records during Friday's second-day activities at the 2009 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Their efforts helped the Liberty men's squad strengthen its hold on first place and moved the Lady Flames into third, at the meet being contested at Cupp Stadium in Radford, Va.
Through eight events, the Liberty men's team has totaled 107 points, leaving the Flames 62 points clear of Commonwealth rival VMI entering the final day of competition. Liberty is in search of its third straight Big South crown and its 14th outdoor conference championship in the last 16 years.
On the women's side, Williams (R-Sr., Tampa, Fla.) scored 18 points by herself on Friday. Liberty's point total is now 48.5, through the first nine disciplines. Coastal Carolina remains in first with 87 points, while new conference member Gardner-Webb has slid into second place, with 67.5 tallies.
Men's Meet Recap
Liberty has long been known as a strong decathlon school, but the Flames accomplished a decathlon first on Friday. Newell (R-Sr., Roanoke, Va.), Geren Woodbridge (R-So., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Clarence Murray (R-Sr., Birdsboro, Pa.) swept the top three spots, in that order. The Flames had never done that before at the Big South meet. Add in Drew Edwards' (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) eighth-place finish, and the Flames equaled their most points ever in the two-day, 10-discipline event with 25.
Newell's performance was remarkable on its own merit. Competing not far from his hometown of Roanoke, Va., Newell became the first-ever back-to-back Big South decathlon titlist with a career-high score of 7,255. He shattered the meet record of former teammate Brandon Hoskins by 369 points, while posting both a NCAA provisional qualifier and IC4A qualifier. Liberty's seventh decathlon champion in the last nine years, Newell moves into position No. 8 on the NCAA national performance list, pending the results of this weekend's other meets.
Woodbridge added a second-place decathlon finish with 6,670 points. He won both of Friday's decathlon throwing events, stretching the tape to 123-2 in the discus and 173-1 in the javelin. Murray was third at 6,225 points, while Edwards won the 1,500 in a time of 4:21.29 to climb from 10th place into eighth, during the final event.
Liberty also posted major points in the men's high jump final, as Bryant (R-Fr., Charlottesville, Va.) cleared 7-0.5 to win, Matt Parker (Sr., Rome, N.Y.) went over 6-10.75 for runner-up honors and Clarence Powell (So., Marianna, Fla.) reached 6-4.75 for fifth place. Bryant and Parker both beat Coastal Carolina redshirt sophomore Jacques Watson, who entered the event as the defending champion, meet record holder and No. 3-ranked high jumper in the nation.
Bryant won his second event of the meet, to go along with Thursday's long jump crown. His first-attempt clearance at 7-0.5 broke the school outdoor record of 7-0, co-held by Mike Reid from 1984 and Mike Connell from 1993. He also took down Watson's meet standard and is now tied for No. 11 on the NCAA national performance list. Bryant was Liberty's first Big South outdoor high jump titlist since Jordan Crawford was victorious in 2004. Meanwhile, Parker, the two-time defending Big South indoor high jump champion, beat out Watson for second place on fewest misses.
Two Flames, a senior and a freshman, scored points in the men's shot put. Andrew Bartels (Sr., Grantham, Pa.) returned to the All-Big South podium for the second time this year. The Big South indoor shot put winner placed third on Friday, with a top throw of 49-8.25.
Finishing right behind Bartels in fourth was John Talbert (Fr., Newton, Kan.). Talbert's 49-1.75 effort in his first shot put competition of the year pushed his personal point total to 13 points, through his first three events. He is the only men's thrower who has placed in the top eight in all three throwing disciplines this weekend, and his specialty, the discus, remains for Saturday's slate of events.
Another Liberty freshman, Kyle Powers (Waterford, Vt.), closed out the Flames' scoring on Friday. He got over the 3,000-meter steeplechase barriers in 9:50.95, which was good for fifth place.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of many running event prelims. Two Flames made successful seasonal event debuts, as Sam Chelanga's (R-So., Nairobi, Kenya) first race of any kind this spring was a heat-winning 3:58.62 in the men's 1,500-meter run prelims, which helped pull a trio of Flames into Saturday's event final.
Running the 400-meter hurdles for the first time in two years, Tim O'Donnell (R-Sr., Hurst, Texas) showed no signs of rust. He won his heat in 54.07 seconds, reaching the final. Fellow senior Phil Leineweber (New Freedom, Pa.) qualified for two event finals, the 200 and 400-meter dashes.
Women's Meet Recap
Williams should sleep well tonight, after completing in six events on Saturday and performing well in all of them. She opened the day by wrapping up her domination of the heptathlon. The Florida native finished with 4,760 points, breaking former Liberty standout Danielle McNaney's meet record by 140 markers. Williams qualified for the ECAC Championships, while joining McNaney as the lone two-time Big South heptathlon champions in conference annals.
Sophomores Krystle Matthews (Chesapeake, Va.) and Jennifer Healey (Virginia Beach, Va.) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, as both finished off their career-best heptathlons. Matthews scored 4,304 points, while Healey came up with 4,218. Both scores would have won last year's Big South heptathlon.
Shortly after completing the heptathlon 800-meter run, Williams ventured to the high jump apron. She got over 5-7 on her first try, finishing runner-up behind High Point's Christina Fenske on misses. The career-best clearance was an ECAC qualifier and ties Williams with McNaney for No. 3 in Liberty women's high jump history.
Williams later proceeded to qualify for Saturday's event finals in both the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. She was one of four Lady Flames to reach the 100 hurdles final, joining Olivia Charnuski (Fr., Elmira, Ontario), Rachel Houseknecht (So., Hughesville, Pa.) and Matthews.
Houseknecht was one of two Lady Flames to tally points in the women's pole vault. Her 10-2 effort left the Keystone State native in fifth place. Erin Hudson (Jr., Whitacre, Va.) was successful at 9-8, tying for the seventh spot.
Junior Chenoa Freeman (Lincoln, Del.) ran her fastest 400-meter dash of the season, a 55.99 which met the ECAC standard and put her into the final.
Andrea Beckles (Sr., Lynchburg, Va.) will compete in two sprint finals Saturday, after running the 100-meter prelim in 11.78 and covering 200 meters in 24.23. Coastal Carolina junior Ikeiylah Brown broke the meet records in both the 100 and 200 Friday, which should make for some interesting Saturday races.
The final day of 2009 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence Saturday at 10 a.m., with the start of the women's discus. The men's 4 x 100 relay is the first track event on Saturday's schedule, set for a noon start time.
Men's Team Scoring (Through Eight Events)
1) Liberty - 107
2) VMI – 45
3) Coastal Carolina - 43.5
4) Winthrop – 32
5) Radford – 31
6) High Point – 23
7) Gardner-Webb - 22.5
8) Charleston Southern – 5
9) UNC Asheville - 3
Women's Team Scoring (Through Nine Events)
1) Coastal Carolina – 87
2) Gardner-Webb - 67.5
3) Liberty - 48.5
4) Radford - 46.5
5T) Charleston Southern – 27
5T) High Point – 27
7) Winthrop - 22.5
8) VMI – 21
9) UNC Asheville - 4
Decathlon Final Scores
1) Daniel Newell (Liberty) - 7,255 (NCAA Provisional Qualifier, IC4A Qualifier, Meet
Record)
2) Geren Woodbridge (Liberty) - 6,670
3) Clarence Murray (Liberty) - 6,225
8) Drew Edwards (Liberty) - 5,544
Heptathlon Final Scores
1) Marie Williams (Liberty) - 4,760 (Meet Record, ECAC Qualifier)
2) Victoria Argus (Gardner-Webb) - 4,611
3) Patria Norman (Charleston Southern) - 4,599
5) Krystle Matthews (Liberty) - 4,304
6) Jennifer Healey (Liberty) - 4,218
The Liberty trio of Anthony Bryant, Daniel Newell and Marie Williams all shattered meet records during Friday's second-day activities at the 2009 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Their efforts helped the Liberty men's squad strengthen its hold on first place and moved the Lady Flames into third, at the meet being contested at Cupp Stadium in Radford, Va.
Through eight events, the Liberty men's team has totaled 107 points, leaving the Flames 62 points clear of Commonwealth rival VMI entering the final day of competition. Liberty is in search of its third straight Big South crown and its 14th outdoor conference championship in the last 16 years.
On the women's side, Williams (R-Sr., Tampa, Fla.) scored 18 points by herself on Friday. Liberty's point total is now 48.5, through the first nine disciplines. Coastal Carolina remains in first with 87 points, while new conference member Gardner-Webb has slid into second place, with 67.5 tallies.
Men's Meet Recap
Liberty has long been known as a strong decathlon school, but the Flames accomplished a decathlon first on Friday. Newell (R-Sr., Roanoke, Va.), Geren Woodbridge (R-So., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Clarence Murray (R-Sr., Birdsboro, Pa.) swept the top three spots, in that order. The Flames had never done that before at the Big South meet. Add in Drew Edwards' (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) eighth-place finish, and the Flames equaled their most points ever in the two-day, 10-discipline event with 25.
Newell's performance was remarkable on its own merit. Competing not far from his hometown of Roanoke, Va., Newell became the first-ever back-to-back Big South decathlon titlist with a career-high score of 7,255. He shattered the meet record of former teammate Brandon Hoskins by 369 points, while posting both a NCAA provisional qualifier and IC4A qualifier. Liberty's seventh decathlon champion in the last nine years, Newell moves into position No. 8 on the NCAA national performance list, pending the results of this weekend's other meets.
Woodbridge added a second-place decathlon finish with 6,670 points. He won both of Friday's decathlon throwing events, stretching the tape to 123-2 in the discus and 173-1 in the javelin. Murray was third at 6,225 points, while Edwards won the 1,500 in a time of 4:21.29 to climb from 10th place into eighth, during the final event.
Liberty also posted major points in the men's high jump final, as Bryant (R-Fr., Charlottesville, Va.) cleared 7-0.5 to win, Matt Parker (Sr., Rome, N.Y.) went over 6-10.75 for runner-up honors and Clarence Powell (So., Marianna, Fla.) reached 6-4.75 for fifth place. Bryant and Parker both beat Coastal Carolina redshirt sophomore Jacques Watson, who entered the event as the defending champion, meet record holder and No. 3-ranked high jumper in the nation.
Bryant won his second event of the meet, to go along with Thursday's long jump crown. His first-attempt clearance at 7-0.5 broke the school outdoor record of 7-0, co-held by Mike Reid from 1984 and Mike Connell from 1993. He also took down Watson's meet standard and is now tied for No. 11 on the NCAA national performance list. Bryant was Liberty's first Big South outdoor high jump titlist since Jordan Crawford was victorious in 2004. Meanwhile, Parker, the two-time defending Big South indoor high jump champion, beat out Watson for second place on fewest misses.
Two Flames, a senior and a freshman, scored points in the men's shot put. Andrew Bartels (Sr., Grantham, Pa.) returned to the All-Big South podium for the second time this year. The Big South indoor shot put winner placed third on Friday, with a top throw of 49-8.25.
Finishing right behind Bartels in fourth was John Talbert (Fr., Newton, Kan.). Talbert's 49-1.75 effort in his first shot put competition of the year pushed his personal point total to 13 points, through his first three events. He is the only men's thrower who has placed in the top eight in all three throwing disciplines this weekend, and his specialty, the discus, remains for Saturday's slate of events.
Another Liberty freshman, Kyle Powers (Waterford, Vt.), closed out the Flames' scoring on Friday. He got over the 3,000-meter steeplechase barriers in 9:50.95, which was good for fifth place.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of many running event prelims. Two Flames made successful seasonal event debuts, as Sam Chelanga's (R-So., Nairobi, Kenya) first race of any kind this spring was a heat-winning 3:58.62 in the men's 1,500-meter run prelims, which helped pull a trio of Flames into Saturday's event final.
Running the 400-meter hurdles for the first time in two years, Tim O'Donnell (R-Sr., Hurst, Texas) showed no signs of rust. He won his heat in 54.07 seconds, reaching the final. Fellow senior Phil Leineweber (New Freedom, Pa.) qualified for two event finals, the 200 and 400-meter dashes.
Women's Meet Recap
Williams should sleep well tonight, after completing in six events on Saturday and performing well in all of them. She opened the day by wrapping up her domination of the heptathlon. The Florida native finished with 4,760 points, breaking former Liberty standout Danielle McNaney's meet record by 140 markers. Williams qualified for the ECAC Championships, while joining McNaney as the lone two-time Big South heptathlon champions in conference annals.
Sophomores Krystle Matthews (Chesapeake, Va.) and Jennifer Healey (Virginia Beach, Va.) came in fifth and sixth, respectively, as both finished off their career-best heptathlons. Matthews scored 4,304 points, while Healey came up with 4,218. Both scores would have won last year's Big South heptathlon.
Shortly after completing the heptathlon 800-meter run, Williams ventured to the high jump apron. She got over 5-7 on her first try, finishing runner-up behind High Point's Christina Fenske on misses. The career-best clearance was an ECAC qualifier and ties Williams with McNaney for No. 3 in Liberty women's high jump history.
Williams later proceeded to qualify for Saturday's event finals in both the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. She was one of four Lady Flames to reach the 100 hurdles final, joining Olivia Charnuski (Fr., Elmira, Ontario), Rachel Houseknecht (So., Hughesville, Pa.) and Matthews.
Houseknecht was one of two Lady Flames to tally points in the women's pole vault. Her 10-2 effort left the Keystone State native in fifth place. Erin Hudson (Jr., Whitacre, Va.) was successful at 9-8, tying for the seventh spot.
Junior Chenoa Freeman (Lincoln, Del.) ran her fastest 400-meter dash of the season, a 55.99 which met the ECAC standard and put her into the final.
Andrea Beckles (Sr., Lynchburg, Va.) will compete in two sprint finals Saturday, after running the 100-meter prelim in 11.78 and covering 200 meters in 24.23. Coastal Carolina junior Ikeiylah Brown broke the meet records in both the 100 and 200 Friday, which should make for some interesting Saturday races.
The final day of 2009 New Balance Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence Saturday at 10 a.m., with the start of the women's discus. The men's 4 x 100 relay is the first track event on Saturday's schedule, set for a noon start time.
Men's Team Scoring (Through Eight Events)
1) Liberty - 107
2) VMI – 45
3) Coastal Carolina - 43.5
4) Winthrop – 32
5) Radford – 31
6) High Point – 23
7) Gardner-Webb - 22.5
8) Charleston Southern – 5
9) UNC Asheville - 3
Women's Team Scoring (Through Nine Events)
1) Coastal Carolina – 87
2) Gardner-Webb - 67.5
3) Liberty - 48.5
4) Radford - 46.5
5T) Charleston Southern – 27
5T) High Point – 27
7) Winthrop - 22.5
8) VMI – 21
9) UNC Asheville - 4
Decathlon Final Scores
1) Daniel Newell (Liberty) - 7,255 (NCAA Provisional Qualifier, IC4A Qualifier, Meet
Record)
2) Geren Woodbridge (Liberty) - 6,670
3) Clarence Murray (Liberty) - 6,225
8) Drew Edwards (Liberty) - 5,544
Heptathlon Final Scores
1) Marie Williams (Liberty) - 4,760 (Meet Record, ECAC Qualifier)
2) Victoria Argus (Gardner-Webb) - 4,611
3) Patria Norman (Charleston Southern) - 4,599
5) Krystle Matthews (Liberty) - 4,304
6) Jennifer Healey (Liberty) - 4,218
Friday, June 05
Wednesday, June 03
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, January 29