Eagles Set to Compete in SoCon Outdoor Championships in Statesboro
4/20/2013 2:20:00 AM
Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships Page
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STATESBORO, Ga. – For this one time in their collegiate careers, the road to the Track and Field postseason is a short one for Eagle student-athletes. This weekend, members of Georgia Southern Track and Field team will cross only a few streets to arrive at the site of the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships, being held in Statesboro Saturday-Sunday, April 20-21. Competition begins Saturday morning at 8 a.m. with the first half of the Decathlon events for the men and at 8:30 a.m. for four of the seven Heptathlon events.
Trials for all the sprint events will be held Saturday afternoon with the finals contested Sunday afternoon. The 4X100m Women's Relay final is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday with the Men's to follow. The 4X400 Relays, the final events of the weekend, are set for 5:15 p.m Sunday. Field events finals will be contested throughout both days beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. A full schedule of events is available here: tinyurl.com/SoConTF2013 with heat sheets and a live results link available late Friday.
"We are definitely excited to have this meet at home where families and friends have an opportunity to come see us compete," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Marlo Mincey. "Whether we are at home or on the road, I always hope for the same thing – consistency – and going out there and performing like Eagles. We want to compete really hard, make sure we put 100 percent out there and do what we practice, that's what we are expecting."
Mincey is the first former Southern Conference Track & Field student-athlete to return as a head coach and her name is still etched in the Georgia Southern record book for the 400m Hurdles with top-five times in the 400m Dash and as a member of the 4X400m Relay team.
Georgia Southern spent the last two weeks tuning up its performances for this weekend with several team members making the trip to the Florida Relays for three relays and one individual event. Twenty-three Eagles are currently ranked in the top 10 of their individual events headed into the SoCon Championships with two individuals, Alyssa Felton (Long Jump) and Aishya Wofford (Discus) holding the No. 1 ranking. Georgia Southern's 4X100m Relay is also at the top of the league list.
"We talk about the fine tuning that we continue to do in sprints, in the race plans, in field events, and preparing and then being prepared for the postseason," Mincey said. "Everything is technical -- understanding your body, understanding your race, making sure you have been executing what what you have been practicing, and being mentally focused, and then fine-tuning all those aspects. This weekend is the culmination of all that preparation."
A traditional power in the sprints, six Eagles will compete in both the 100m and 200m Dash events with seniors Jasmine Billings and Ebony Carter setting the tone in the individual events and Amber Vaughn racing in the 400m Dash, as a member of the 4X400m Relay and anchoring the 4X100m Relay. Billings is also slated for the 100m Hurdles and Vaughn for the High Jump.
Carter, who was named the 2012 Outdoor Most Outstanding Performer, is a two-time defending SoCon champion in the 100m. She earned all-conference honors in the 200m last year and has been a member of the all-Southern Conference 4X100m Relay team two times. She has been a mainstay this year, running the second leg of the relay, which posted its fastest time of the year at the Florida Relays at the beginning of this month.
Sophomore Kimberly Thomas recorded her best time in the 400m at the FSU Relays last month and looks to improve on that 57.38 time this weekend. Thomas has the top time for Georgia Southern this year and leads three Eagles in this event. She will anchor the 4X400m Relay and run the 200m Dash. Classmate Jasmin Walker has a busy schedule this weekend vying for spots in the finals in the 100m and 200m Dash as well as competing in the Long Jump. Walker also runs the lead leg for the Eagles in the 4X100m Relay. Sophomore Tiffany White has one of the Eagles' top-five times of the season and will be in the blocks for the 400m Dash trials Saturday afternoon too.
Several newcomers are also poised to make their Southern Conference outdoor championships debuts and an impact on the Eagles scoring this weekend: Alyssa Felton, Aliya Parker, Ashleigh Rasheed, Camryn Coleman and Aarian Tipton. Felton, who won the Long Jump at the 2013 SoCon Indoor Track & Field Championships in February, is within striking distance of her mark during outdoor. She will also add depth to the Eagles' 100m and 200m Dash events and run the third leg of the 4X100m Relay. Newcomer Aarian Tipton posted solid times at the UNF Invitational and is on the list for both the 100m and 200m events with freshman Camryn Coleman in the 100m Dash event as well.
Rasheed has been training for the multi events all season and starts the Eagles off in the Heptathlon, beginning with the 100m Hurdles contested Saturday morning. She will also compete in the individual Long Jump and Triple Jump events. The youngest member of the 4X400m Relay, Parker also lends her speed in the 200m and 400m Dash in the individual events.
Dana Edwards, who will run the lead leg of the 4X400m Relay, took the top spot in the 400m Hurdles in the Georgia Southern Invitational and is close to breaking into the Eagles' top-five times in this event. She and Lauren Toomer have both the 100m and 400m Hurdles on their weekend schedules. Billings in the 100m Hurdles and Deanna Edwards in the 400m Hurdles provide some depth for the Eagles in those events.
Sara Curry, who already owns the school record in the 5,000m Run, will look to better her record-setting time in the 10,000m. She took 24 seconds off her previous best time and senior competes this weekend in her final collegiate meet. Amanda Tennyson returns to competition for the Eagles in the 800m event.
Freshman Keyanna Harris, who tied her best outdoor effort in the High Jump at last month's Georgia Southern Invitational, leads Vaughn, Taylor Johnson and Iesha Nichols in this event Sunday afternoon. Felton, Nichols, Camryn Coleman and Charles are set to compete in the Long Jump, the first jumps event of the championships Saturday at noon. Charles and Johnson both join Rasheed in the Triple Jump, which is set for a mid-afternoon Sunday start.
Home "field" advantage is just one aspect the Eagles will enjoy as Aishya Wofford set the Track and Field Complex facility record in the Discus in March at 43.10m. Her distance of 45.23m at the UNF Invitational ranked second all time in Georgia Southern history and leads the SoCon individual rankings. Kelsey Chandler, Alexis Jacobs and Jazmine Johnson are in the mix to score points for Georgia Southern in this event.
Chandler broke into the top-five all-time Georgia Southern performances in the Hammer Throw with her mark at the Georgia Southern Invitational last month. Chandler, Charles, Mallory Fannin, Jacobs and Jazmine Johnson are on the watch list for this weekend. Jacobs and Wofford will also compete in the Shot Put where Jacobs recorded the top effort for the Eagles this season at the Palmetto Classic.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
