COLUMBIA, S.C. ? The Georgia Southern track & field team had a strong outing on Saturday, at the Weems Baskin Invitational on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
In addition to South Carolina, other schools that competed on Saturday were Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Benedict College, Claflin University, Limestone College, Morris College, Tennessee State University, UNC Pembroke, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, USC Upstate and VMI.
The Eagles fared very well in competition placing in the top-5 in 11 out of 16 women's events. Sophomore Demetrise Anthony ran the second best time in school history in the 100m, which was good enough for a third place finish with a time of 11.58. The Manchester, Ga. native placed fourth in the 200m, sprinting to a time of 25.49 and finished sixth in the long jump with a distance of 5.36m.
Courtney Ware (Indianapolis, Ind.) had a career day in several events for the Eagles. The junior had a second place finish in the long jump leaping a distance of 5.69m and placed seventh in the 200m with a time of 26.06.
Senior Carla Ballard (Morrow, Ga.) ran the fifth best time in school history with a time of 56.80 in the 400m, while teammate Ashley Bush-Hardy (Fayetteville, Ga.) was close behind turning in a time of 58.68.
In the 800m, Georgia Southern finished in sixth and eighth place respectively as junior Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) recorded a time of 2:18.68 and Abby Bloom (Snellville, Ga.) finished in 2:22.72.
GSU placed third out of 11 participating teams in the 4x100m relay earning a time of 46.97. Melanie Trumbo (Lilburn, Ga.) tied for third place in the high jump with a mark of 1.60m. Teammate Jessica Irizarry (Kennesaw, Ga.) turned in two fourth place finishes in the hammer throw and discus with distances of 45.46m and 34.42m.
Georgia Southern is back on the track Friday, April 4, at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla. The meet is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
