Track & Field Finishes Third in the SoCon Outdoor Championships
4/28/2009 11:25:00 PM
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern track & field team finished third in the 2009 SoCon Outdoor Championships with 146.50 points. The Eagles extended their streak of third place or better finishes to eight.
The Eagles looked to carry over their strong performance in day one of the heptathlon to the final three events today. Shaunta Hamilton (Macon, Ga.) finished first in the long jump portion of the heptathlon and moved into sixth place after five events. Lynndsey Hyter (Dallas, Texas) held on to first place after recording a jump of 5.39 meters, good enough for second place. Melanie Trumbo (Lilburn, Ga.) remained in third place with a jump of 5.14 meters.
Trumbo retook the lead after she posted her best javelin throw of the meet. Trumbo finished first in the javelin portion of the heptathlon with a distance of 35.74 meters (117-03.00) which bested her mark from the Javelin finals. Hyter fell to second place, and Hamilton remained in sixth place with a throw of 23.05 meters (75-07.00).
The Eagles held on in the final event, the 800 meter run, and took first, second and sixth place in the heptathlon. Hyter had the highest finish, posting a time of 2:35.70 in the 800. Trumbo pulled in Field Athlete of the Year honors to go along with her heptathlon win.
GSU started off the second half of the day's action with a third place finish and a new season high in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 46.63.
Laura Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) picked up two points for the Eagles with a seventh place finish in the 1500 meter run and finished with a time of 4:48.88.
Ashley Bush-Hardy (Fayetteville, Ga.) finished second in the 400 meter dash and set a new career high with a time of 55.62.
Demetrise Anthony (Manchester, Ga.) and Courtney Ware (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished second and fourth in the 100 meter dash finals. Anthony was just a tenth of a second behind the winner with a time of 11.77.
Trumbo and Jasmine Lightning (Dacula, Ga.) helped close the gap on Western Carolina with a second and third place finish in the high jump. Trumbo recorded a regional qualifying mark of 1.75 meters (5-08.75). Lightning set a new career high with a jump of 1.70 meters.
Kristin Olson (Senoia, Ga.) cut into the Catamounts lead with a first place in the 100 meter hurdles. Olson recorded the fifth best time in school history with a time of 14.42.
Fuller pulled the Eagles within 20 points of Western Carolina with an eighth place finish in the 800 meter run. Fuller crossed the finish line with a time of 2:20.03.
Olson and Bush-Hardy finished third and fourth in the 400 meter hurdles. Olson crossed the line with a time of 1:04.60, setting a new season high. Bush-Hardy bested her career high by nearly two seconds with a time of 1:04.91.
The Eagles recorded three of the top five jumps in the triple jump with Hamilton placing second with a jump of 12.31 meters. Hyter finished fourth with a mark of 12.09 meters, and Anthony came in fifth with a jump of 11.95 meters.
Amanda Spivy (Pembroke, Ga.) and Sarah Herndon (Statesboro, Ga.) picked up three combined points for GSU in the discus throw. Spivy threw a distance of 36.73 meters, good enough for seventh place in the discus. Herndon landed a mark of 34.20 meters and finished eighth.
The Eagles' 4x400 meter relay team had a late lead but could not hold on, finishing second with a time of 3:46.17.
Track & Field will return to action at the Georgia Tech Last Chance meet and will try to add to their list of NCAA Regional participants.
