Track & Field Opens 2010-11 Season at Clemson Saturday
12/4/2010 3:27:00 AM
CLEMSON, S.C. -- The 2010-11 Women's Track and Field season opens at the Orange and Purple Winter Classic Saturday, December 4th. Clemson plays host to the annual event with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and track events starting at 12:30 p.m.
Coming off a third-place finish for the Southern Conference Indoor Championship and a fifth-place finish for the outdoor season, the Georgia Southern Track and Field team is ready to soar. The Eagles return several veterans, including seniors Shaunta Hamilton (Macon, Ga.) and Lynndsey Hyter (Dallas, Texas). Hamilton and Hyter lead a group of talented performers in Jasmine Billings (Lawrenceville, Ga.) in the hurdles and Morgan Jefferson (Villa Rica, Ga.) and Biebele Benson-Jaja (Savannah, Ga.) in the sprint events.
Co-Outstanding Performer for the indoor season, Hyter is a two-time SoCon champion in the pentathlon and a fierce competitor who plays a critical role in the success of the team. She participates in the pentathlon during the indoor season and heptathlon for outdoor season. In addition to those multi-event competitions, she records top performances in the hurdles, long jump, triple jump and high jump individual events. Hamilton, the reigning heptathlon winner, has posted excellent performances in the long jump and triple jump for the Eagles.
Billings made a name for herself as one of the top hurdlers in the Southern Conference. At the SoCon championships, Billings recorded the second-best time in the league with an 8.91 in the 60 meter hurdles in the very first meet of the 2009-10 season. During the outdoor season, her time of 14.18 was good enough for third-best in the SoCon in the 100 meter hurdles.
In the sprints, two seniors Jefferson and Benson-Jaja will look to make their mark in their final year of competition. Both compete on the 4X400 meter relay as well as the 400 meter dash. The Eagles' 4 X 400 relay team took second place overall while Jefferson and Benson-Jaja posted finishes of fifth- and sixth-place, respectively, in the individual 400 event. Benson Jaja placed seventh in the 400 meter dash at the SoCon Outdoor Championships in Boone, N.C., last spring.
Georgia Southern also had four freshmen who earned All-Conference Freshman honors during the outdoor season and three after the indoor season. Jasmine Billings (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Ebony Carter (Rome, Ga.), Megan Fannon (Atlanta, Ga.) and Ashley Thomas (shot put - Lawrenceville, Ga.) were named for their outdoor performances. Billings (60 meter hurdles), Fannon (weight throw) and Thomas (shot put) received All-Conference honors for the indoor season as well.
Not only do the Eagles have returnees poised for a new season, but the newcomers are expected to contribute as well. Brianna Charles (Lithonia, Ga.), Raquel Daly (Decatur, Ga.), Stephanie Hicks (N.J.), Kwajelin Holsendolph (Hinesville, Ga.), Charrelle King (Elmont, N.Y.) and Asea Mayfield (Marietta, Ga.) are preparing for their first competitions.
