Thursday, April 15
Charleston, S.C.
10:00 AM
Liberty University
at
Big South Outdoor Track Championships
Osborne, Powell Win Day One Events
4/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Day One Blog
Highlighted by Ashley Osborne and Clarence Powell's event titles, Liberty enjoyed a successful opening day, Thursday at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Flames lead the men's team standings, while the Lady Flames are a close second to Coastal Carolina in the meet being held at Bagwell-Settle Track in Charleston, S.C.
Osborne won the day's final event, the women's 10K, punctuating a day which saw the Lady Flames record All-Big South performances in all four events. As a result, the Liberty women's squad totaled 41 points, just two shy of Coastal Carolina's 43 markers.
Meanwhile, Powell's long jump title was part of the men's team's impressive 25-point haul in that event. The three-time defending Big South champion Flames ended Thursday with a 14-point lead over second-place High Point, 45-31.
Women's Meet Recap
Osborne broke up the lead pack of four runners with a considerable surge, just before the 8K mark. By the end of the 10K race, the redshirt senior had captured her first career Big South outdoor track & field title by 19 seconds over Winthrop's Carey Phillips, in a 37:49.76 clocking. Teammate Dacia Bushman, who has been limited by injury this season, added a fifth-place finish and four important team points, crossing the line in 38:47.15.
Thursday's first women's event, the javelin, provided a pair of pleasant surprises for the Lady Flames. Krystle Matthews and Christina Mitchell both stepped away from the heptathlon long enough to take three throws, and both athletes recorded career-best distances. Matthews' 128-11 heave earned All-Big South honors and third place, while Mitchell's 122-8 attempt stood up for seventh place.
In the day's other women's throwing event, the hammer, Liberty school record holder Melinda Bendik posted a runner-up finish. Her best mark, 178-10, equaled that of Coastal Carolina's Brittany Connor. However, Bendik's second-best throw (171-11) landed five inches longer than Connor's second-best effort. So, the Lone Star State native was awarded second place and Connor took third for the Chanticleers.
All four of Liberty's entrants in the women's long jump qualified for the finals, and three of them scored points. Leading the way was redshirt sophomore Mia Aghaji, whose 17-11.75 leap placed her third for All-Big South distinction. Matthews (17-9.5) and Melanie Sims (17-8.25) added sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively. As a result, Matthews was able to score a total of nine team points in a pair of individual events, in the midst of her four heptathlon disciplines.
Speaking of the heptathlon, Mitchell and Matthews rank third and fourth, respectively, through Thursday's four disciplines. Mitchell summed 2,922 points, featuring an outdoor personal-best 5-5 high jump clearance which ties for the No. 5 spot in program history. Teammate Matthews notched personal bests in both running events, clocking 14.64 for the 100-meter hurdles and 25.95 for the 200-meter dash. Her day one score was 2,880.
Men's Meet Recap
Powell had won Big South triple jump and high jump crowns before, but Thursday's performance represented the junior's initial conference long jump title. His winning distance, 24-0.25, was the longest jump at the Big South outdoor meet since Coastal Carolina's Jerome Simpson went 24-6.25 in 2007.
Powell was backed up by teammates Anthony Bryant, Kevin Reddington and Oronde Vassell. Bryant, the defending champion in this event, reached 23-10.75 on his best attempt to claim runner-up honors. The indoor Big South Freshman of the Year, Reddington landed at 23-2.5 for fourth place. Vassell rounded out Liberty's impressive showing, notching seventh place with a 22-5.75.
A trio of Flames placed in the men's 10K, paced by senior Josh Edmonds' third-consecutive All-Big South performance in the event. He clocked a personal-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 30:25.29, coming in under the previous meet record. However, High Point teammates Jesse Cherry and Cole Atkins also eclipsed the Big South meet standard while taking the top two spots.
Liberty's Jake Reed placed in the 10K for the second time in the last three years, finishing sixth in 32:11.52. Meanwhile, Mark Hopely grabbed the eighth spot after stopping the clock in 33:03.05.
Redshirt junior Elliot Galeone repeated his third-place javelin finish from 2009, after saving his best throw for last. He climbed up two spots as a result of his sixth and final attempt, which measured 213-10.
The Flames' final point scorer on day one was redshirt freshman Ryan Smith in the hammer. His 174-6 throw garnered fifth place.
Geren Woodbridge, looking to complement his Big South heptathlon championship with a conference decathlon title, is halfway to accomplishing the feat. He took over the lead after winning the third discipline, the shot put, by over two and a half feet at 42-6.75. The Keystone State native's day one score of 3,490 gives him a 16-point lead over Charleston Southern's Dominique Riggins.
Drew Edwards currently ranks seventh in the decathlon with 3,228 points. The shot put (season-best 38-2.75) was also an opening-day highlight for the sophomore.
Friday's schedule will begin at 11 a.m., with the resumption of the multi events. Both the decathlon 110-meter hurdles and the heptathlon long jump will get things started for another full day of action.
Women's Team Scores (Through Four Events)
1) Coastal Carolina – 43
2) Liberty – 41
3) Charleston Southern – 16
4) Radford – 15
5) Winthrop – 13
6) Gardner-Webb – 12
7) High Point – 10
8) UNC Asheville – 5
9) VMI – 1
Men's Team Scores (Through Four Events)
1) Liberty – 45
2) High Point – 31
3) Coastal Carolina – 22
4) Radford – 19
5) Charleston Southern – 12
6) VMI – 9
7) Winthrop – 8
8T) UNC Asheville – 5
8T) Gardner-Webb – 5
Highlighted by Ashley Osborne and Clarence Powell's event titles, Liberty enjoyed a successful opening day, Thursday at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Flames lead the men's team standings, while the Lady Flames are a close second to Coastal Carolina in the meet being held at Bagwell-Settle Track in Charleston, S.C.
Osborne won the day's final event, the women's 10K, punctuating a day which saw the Lady Flames record All-Big South performances in all four events. As a result, the Liberty women's squad totaled 41 points, just two shy of Coastal Carolina's 43 markers.
Meanwhile, Powell's long jump title was part of the men's team's impressive 25-point haul in that event. The three-time defending Big South champion Flames ended Thursday with a 14-point lead over second-place High Point, 45-31.
Women's Meet Recap
Osborne broke up the lead pack of four runners with a considerable surge, just before the 8K mark. By the end of the 10K race, the redshirt senior had captured her first career Big South outdoor track & field title by 19 seconds over Winthrop's Carey Phillips, in a 37:49.76 clocking. Teammate Dacia Bushman, who has been limited by injury this season, added a fifth-place finish and four important team points, crossing the line in 38:47.15.
Thursday's first women's event, the javelin, provided a pair of pleasant surprises for the Lady Flames. Krystle Matthews and Christina Mitchell both stepped away from the heptathlon long enough to take three throws, and both athletes recorded career-best distances. Matthews' 128-11 heave earned All-Big South honors and third place, while Mitchell's 122-8 attempt stood up for seventh place.
In the day's other women's throwing event, the hammer, Liberty school record holder Melinda Bendik posted a runner-up finish. Her best mark, 178-10, equaled that of Coastal Carolina's Brittany Connor. However, Bendik's second-best throw (171-11) landed five inches longer than Connor's second-best effort. So, the Lone Star State native was awarded second place and Connor took third for the Chanticleers.
All four of Liberty's entrants in the women's long jump qualified for the finals, and three of them scored points. Leading the way was redshirt sophomore Mia Aghaji, whose 17-11.75 leap placed her third for All-Big South distinction. Matthews (17-9.5) and Melanie Sims (17-8.25) added sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively. As a result, Matthews was able to score a total of nine team points in a pair of individual events, in the midst of her four heptathlon disciplines.
Speaking of the heptathlon, Mitchell and Matthews rank third and fourth, respectively, through Thursday's four disciplines. Mitchell summed 2,922 points, featuring an outdoor personal-best 5-5 high jump clearance which ties for the No. 5 spot in program history. Teammate Matthews notched personal bests in both running events, clocking 14.64 for the 100-meter hurdles and 25.95 for the 200-meter dash. Her day one score was 2,880.
Men's Meet Recap
Powell had won Big South triple jump and high jump crowns before, but Thursday's performance represented the junior's initial conference long jump title. His winning distance, 24-0.25, was the longest jump at the Big South outdoor meet since Coastal Carolina's Jerome Simpson went 24-6.25 in 2007.
Powell was backed up by teammates Anthony Bryant, Kevin Reddington and Oronde Vassell. Bryant, the defending champion in this event, reached 23-10.75 on his best attempt to claim runner-up honors. The indoor Big South Freshman of the Year, Reddington landed at 23-2.5 for fourth place. Vassell rounded out Liberty's impressive showing, notching seventh place with a 22-5.75.
A trio of Flames placed in the men's 10K, paced by senior Josh Edmonds' third-consecutive All-Big South performance in the event. He clocked a personal-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 30:25.29, coming in under the previous meet record. However, High Point teammates Jesse Cherry and Cole Atkins also eclipsed the Big South meet standard while taking the top two spots.
Liberty's Jake Reed placed in the 10K for the second time in the last three years, finishing sixth in 32:11.52. Meanwhile, Mark Hopely grabbed the eighth spot after stopping the clock in 33:03.05.
Redshirt junior Elliot Galeone repeated his third-place javelin finish from 2009, after saving his best throw for last. He climbed up two spots as a result of his sixth and final attempt, which measured 213-10.
The Flames' final point scorer on day one was redshirt freshman Ryan Smith in the hammer. His 174-6 throw garnered fifth place.
Geren Woodbridge, looking to complement his Big South heptathlon championship with a conference decathlon title, is halfway to accomplishing the feat. He took over the lead after winning the third discipline, the shot put, by over two and a half feet at 42-6.75. The Keystone State native's day one score of 3,490 gives him a 16-point lead over Charleston Southern's Dominique Riggins.
Drew Edwards currently ranks seventh in the decathlon with 3,228 points. The shot put (season-best 38-2.75) was also an opening-day highlight for the sophomore.
Friday's schedule will begin at 11 a.m., with the resumption of the multi events. Both the decathlon 110-meter hurdles and the heptathlon long jump will get things started for another full day of action.
Women's Team Scores (Through Four Events)
1) Coastal Carolina – 43
2) Liberty – 41
3) Charleston Southern – 16
4) Radford – 15
5) Winthrop – 13
6) Gardner-Webb – 12
7) High Point – 10
8) UNC Asheville – 5
9) VMI – 1
Men's Team Scores (Through Four Events)
1) Liberty – 45
2) High Point – 31
3) Coastal Carolina – 22
4) Radford – 19
5) Charleston Southern – 12
6) VMI – 9
7) Winthrop – 8
8T) UNC Asheville – 5
8T) Gardner-Webb – 5
Friday, June 05
Wednesday, June 03
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, January 29