Liberty University
Duke Twilight
Ricksecker, Klugh Shine in Duke 1,500
5/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty redshirt senior Rebekah Ricksecker set a new personal best in the women's 1,500, Sunday evening at the Duke Twilight meet, while sophomore teammate Jennifer Klugh followed with an ECAC-qualifying performance in the same event.
Ricksecker clocked a 4:24.78 under the lights at Wallace Wade Stadium, finishing a close second behind Duke's Esther Vermeer. Her time, a season best by nearly two full seconds, improves her chances at qualification for the NCAA Division I Preliminary Round meet at the end of the month.
The three-time Big South women's 1,500-meter champion now sits No. 39 in the East Region, based upon the information available at the time of this article. The top 48 runners in the region at the conclusion of action on May 16 will compete in the NCAA Division I Preliminary Round.
Klugh won her heat of the 1,500 and placed sixth overall out of 30 competitors in the event. Most importantly, though, her career-best 4:30.94 effort came in under the ECAC qualification standard of 4:31.44. Klugh trimmed four seconds off of her previous best, set May 1 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, and climbed up to No. 5 on Liberty's all-time performance list in the women's 1,500.
Klugh, a Buckeye State native, has now found success at late-season qualifying meets twice this year. During the indoor campaign, she qualified for the ECAC Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in the mile at the Virginia Tech Challenge, her next-to-last opportunity to do so. This time around, Klugh earned her first career trip to the ECAC Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships on her last possible qualifying attempt.
The only other Lady Flame in action on Sunday was sophomore Alyssa Pegues, in the triple jump. She jumped 37-9.5 into a headwind on her opening attempt, but was unable to improve on any of her five remaining tries and finished fourth.
On the men's side, sophomore Chris Johnson clocked a personal-best 54.74 to place ninth in the 400-meter hurdles.
Justin Savini closed his collegiate career with a third-attempt clearance at 14-7.25 in the pole vault. He finished sixth, while redshirting teammate Kolby Shepherd won the competition by sailing over 16-4.75.
Freshman Kevin Reddington's best triple jump mark of the day was 43-4.5, earning him a fourth-place showing in the event.
Liberty will send a sizable group of competitors to William Weaver Track & Field Stadium in Princeton, N.J., for this weekend's IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The three-day conference meet will commence Friday at 1 p.m., when Geren Woodbridge begins the IC4A decathlon.
