Track & Field Team Competes at SoCon Outdoor Championships
4/21/2011 10:10:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Georgia Southern's Track & Field team gears up to compete at the Southern Conference Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday-Saturday, April 22-23rd. Samford plays host to the 25th annual event at its Track and Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. The championships start at 10:30 a.m. Central time with the Heptathlon hurdles.
"We have experienced the range this year - we have had some really high moments this season and then also identified areas where we needed improvement," said Head Track & Field Coach Natalie Smith. "We have prepared the team for this weekend's competition, now it's up to them to compete."
Georgia Southern heads into the SoCon Championships after setting five personal records at the War Eagle Invitational last weekend. In the weeks leading up to conference meet, the Eagles have posted numerous personal records and solid performances at Pepsi Relays and Seminole invite.
"We have been nursing some wounds this season and losing Lynndsey Hyter going into outdoor season really put us in a spot where we are going to have to make everything count," said Smith. "We have an opportunity to crown some individual conference titles and are looking to put at least two on the podium in several events. Our young ladies have the opportunity to score several points."
Sophomore Ebony Carter (Rome, Ga.) ranks second in the conference in the 100 meter Dash, recording a personal best 11.91 in the preliminaries the War Eagle Invitational last weekend. Carter also ranks third overall in SoCon with a time of 24.82 in the 200 meter Dash.
Georgia Southern owns three of the five SoCon top times in the 100 meter Hurdles. Kwajelin Holsendolph (Hinesville, Ga.) paces Georgia Southern in the 100 meter Hurdlers with a time of 14.06, second best in the SoCon. Sophomore Jasmine Billings (Lawrenceville, Ga.) is .01 seconds behind Holsendolph with a time of 14.07, good for third in the SoCon. Rounding out the top five in the 100 meter Hurdles is freshman Stephanie Hicks (Trenton, N.J.), who ran a 14.29 as part of her Heptathlon competition at the Emory Classic.
Both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter Relay teams have improved their times in the last month. The 4x100 meter Relay team, consisting of Carter, Billings, Holsendolph and Amber Vaughn (Macon, Ga.), currently ranks third in the conference with a 46.93 time. The 4x400 meter Relay squad of Kristiana Towns (Decatur, Ga.), Morgan Jefferson (Villa Rica, Ga.), Asea Mayfield (Marietta, Ga.) and Ray Toomer (Savannah, Ga.), posted its best time of the year (3:50.66) at Seminole Invite in Tallahassee, Fla. Towns, Jefferson and Daly will also compete in the 400 meter Dash while Mayfield will compete in the 800 meter Run.
Leading the Eagles in long distance events is sophomore Sara Curry (Lawrenceville, Ga.) who earlier this season took 30 seconds off the previous outdoor 5,000 meter Run with her time of 18:23.14. Senior Kassi Lee (Elberton, Ga.), junior Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) and freshman Amanda fill out the event for the Eagles in the 5,000 meter Run.
Senior Shaunta Hamilton (Macon, Ga.) has the best Eagle performances in both the Long and Triple Jump. Her Triple Jump distance (39'-08") is second in the SoCon and she ranks third in Long Jump with at of 18'-09.75". Freshman Stephanie Hicks (Trenton, N.J.), ranks fourth with in the Long Jump at 18-06.50. Hamilton, junior Millicent Brooks-Millender (Douglasville, Ga) and freshman Brianna Charles (Lithonia, Ga.) will all compete in both the Long Jump and the Triple Jump.
Sophomore Ashley Thomas (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who has progressed all season long in the throws area, will compete in the Shot Put, Discus and Hammer throw. Teammate Charnelle Wray (Jamaica, N.Y.) joins Thomas in the shot put and hammer throw.
Recording her best height of 2011 in the High Jump at the UCF Invitational, Alex Cassagnol (Augusta, Ga.) ranks fourth among the leaders in SoCon with a mark of 5'-06". Azura Robillard (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) competes this weekend in Heptathlon, Javelin,and 400 meter Hurdles. She enters the championship with a season-best 108'08''achieved at Seminole Invite. Freshman Amber Braswell (Grayson, Ga.) is the Eagles second competitor in the Javelin event.
Heat Sheets for the SoCon Championship will be available late Thursday night at http://soconsports.com and http://www.georgiasoutherneagles.com/track&field.
Follow the Georgia Southern Track and Field team and the results from day one of the Southern Conference Championships by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Short updates will be available at twitter.com/GSAthletics and at facebook.com/GSAthletics. As results become available during the day, they will be posted on twitter.com/GSScores.
