CLEMSON, S.C. ? The Georgia Southern track & field team fell from second place into third to finish out the final day of competition at the Southern Conference Indoor Championships on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.
Western Carolina finished with 172 points earning the SoCon Indoor Championship. Appalachian State came in second with 167 points and GSU finished in third with 120 points. Chattanooga, Elon, Davidson, College of Charleston, The Citadel and Furman rounded out the rest of the women's field.
Senior Carla Ballard (Morrow, Ga.) placed second in the 400m racing to a time of 56.77. Ballard's time ranks as the second best time in school indoor history behind Marlo Mincey's time of 55.84 set in 2004.
In the 60m dash, Western Carolina's Tangelia Johnson edged out GSU's Demetrise Anthony (Manchester, Ga.) by five thousandth of a second claiming the SoCon Championship. Anthony's time of 7.567 officially moves her into second place on the all-time list behind Nicole Brown's time of 7.43 set in 2005. Anthony also earned a fourth place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 39'09.25”
Teammates Jessica Irizarry (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Jennifer Charles (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) finished in sixth and seventh places respectively in the weight throw. Irizarry threw a distance of 49'04.25”, while Charles posted a distance of 46'11.75.
GSU junior Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) broke the school record in the 800m finishing fourth, while sprinting to a time of 2:16.43.
The 4x400m relay team consisting of Ashley Bush-Hardy (Fayetteville, Ga.), Jennings, London Ryles (Decatur, Ga.) and Ballard earned a second place finish with a time of 3:50.09.
The SoCon Indoor Championships conclude the indoor season. The Eagles will open the outdoor season on Saturday, March 15 when they head to Conway, S.C. for the Coastal Carolina Classic. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
