STATESBORO, Ga. ? As the Georgia Southern track & field team prepares for this weekend's indoor competition in Johnson City, Tenn.; the outdoor season is just around the corner with the 2008 schedule being released today.
Sophomore Demetrise Anthony (Manchester, Ga.) opened the indoor season on a high-note claiming the triple jump at the Clemson Opener with a leap of 40'9”. She'll look to continue her dominance this weekend at East Tennessee State.
Eagles distance runner Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished the 800m run in fourth place, while teammate Abby Bloom (Snellville, Ga.) ran strong to an 11th place finish. Jennings raced to a time of 2:22.15 and Bloom finished in 2:28.47. Jennings and teammates London Ryles (Decatur, Ga.), Kristin Olson (Senoia, Ga.) and Ashley Bush-Hardy (Fayetteville, Ga.) helped the 4x400m relay team score an 11th place finish with a time of 4:00.44.
Georgia Southern sophomore Melanie Trumbo (Lilburn, Ga.) cleared 5'4.25” in the high jump event propelling her to a fourth place finish. GSU senior Jennifer Charles (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) completed the Clemson Opener with a third place finish in the shot put throwing a distance of 42'11.75”. Both will be looked upon throughout the remainder of the indoor schedule and as the outdoor season kicks off on (Mar. 15) in Conway, S.C. That weekend officially opens the outdoor seasons as the Eagles travel to compete against Coastal Carolina.
After a return trip to Conway, S.C. (Mar. 22), GSU will travel Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Mar. 27-29) to compete in a meet hosted by the University of Alabama.
Gone are the golden spikes of former GSU phenom Nicole Brown. However, Brown will help talented second-year coach Natalie Smith and newcomer throwing coach Jeremy Hinton guide the experienced Eagles to Gainesville, Fla. (April 4-5). There they will compete at the University of Florida, their second Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent in as many weeks.
Heading into the home stretch, GSU will get a chance to compete at home for the first and only time all season (April 12). They finish out the regular season with a stop in Davidson, N.C. (April 19) to compete in a meet hosted by Davidson.
Western Carolina will host the SoCon Championships this spring (April 26-27), which will give the Eagles the chance to repeat as Southern Conference Champions. Georgia Southern will get a slight rest before heading to Atlanta, Ga. (May. 16-17) where they will compete in a meet hosted by Georgia Tech.
Last season, Brown became the first Eagle to compete at the NCAA Championships. This season Georgia Southern is hopeful to earn a trip to Tallahassee, Fla. (May. 30-31) for the East Regional's and Des Moines, Iowa (June 11-14) for the NCAA Championships.
