Upstate Bests Wofford in Dual-Meet
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 17, 2009
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Complete Stats
The USC Upstate track and field team competed in the second annual dual-meet against Wofford on Friday afternoon at Broome High School and took victories in both the women's and men's events, with respective point totals of 102 and 90.50. Upstate took titles in 27 of the 30 overall events, including all the running events but the men's 400-meter dash.
"Overall, it was a great meet for us as many different individuals contributed to the win," said head track and field coach Jimmy Stephens. "We were very fortunate that Wofford was able to participate in this meet again only a week before their conference championships. They are a competitive program and we hope to see them again next year."
Gabrielle Walker, a sophomore transfer from Mars Hill, was a major contributor on the women's side as she set a new school record in the 100-meter dash, finishing under 13 seconds for the first time in Upstate history, with a 12.94 second finish. She also beat all former Spartans in the women's triple mark, with a new mark of 34 feet, bettering her record from last weekend.
Adrienne Singletary was another Spartan sprinter who earned a new personal best and school record on Friday. She finished the 200-meter dash in 27.14 seconds, just in front of Kiah White, who saw an individual best finish in 27.78.
In the men's 200-meter dash, Michael Meissner put up his best time of the season with a finish in 23.03 seconds, while Joe Holzinger bettered his time for a new school record in the 800-meters, crossing the line in 2:00.24.
Justin Crawford, Terry Squibbs and Graham Long all earned top individual performances in the pole vault, with Squibbs finishing one foot higher than his former career best.
"Justin Crawford stayed consistent and put up another solid day, reaching 15 feet for the second- consecutive week," Stephens said. "Terry Squibbs made a huge jump in a PR today. I'm very proud of his work."
To no surprise, Perrish Goggins, named the A-Sun's Most Valuable Field Performer for the 2008-09 indoor track season, earned 10 points and took individual titles in the men's high jump and long jump. Joseph Jiles and Dakota Speed both recorded their top performances of the season in the high jump, and Reggie Thompson also finished among the top-three in both events. Goggins also took first in the 100-meter dash with a finish in 11.09 seconds, the fastest among the Upstate men this season.
"Perrish Goggins looked solid on all fronts today in the sprints and jumps" said Stephens. "Marc Wartenberger also had another great day, setting a school record in the javelin that Kyle Wentzel later broke."
Wartenberger topped all performers in the shot put and discus throw. Eric Chapman and Kyle Wentzel finished second and third, respectively, in both events. Wentzel then came out to set a new school record in the javelin throw with a toss reaching 145 feet.
For the women, Kayla Speed and Stacie Sewell both saw new personal bests in the shot put as LaTerrica Blocker took first with a 33-foot throw. Sewell finished first in the discus while Angie Varnum topped all women in the javelin throw, with a season-best toss of 90 feet, 9 inches.
The women's distance runners also saw major breakthroughs on Friday. Freshman Joan Tangwar displayed her best performance of the season in the 800-meter run, finishing second only to her sister, Emily Tangwar, with an individual best time of 2:19.23. Freshman Caroline Chelulei showed 15 seconds of improvement from last week in the 1,500-meter event, taking first-place in 4:50.93, while freshman Lauren Walker also improved upon her 3,000-meter time, breaking 11 minutes for the first time in her career with a finish in 10:58.43.
"The women definitely took advantage of the low-pressured meet style today," said Upstate's distance coach Ed Schlichter. "We had some goals set for today and the women did everything they needed to do to accomplish them and put them on pace for where we need to be right now. We're looking to drop big chunks of time every week.
"We treated this more as a workout for the men, as they will see a big race in two weeks with the Duke Twilight," Schlichter continued. "We have a goal of continuing to improve by then."
Matt Henderson took first-place in the men's 1,500- and 3,000-meter events, while James Jackson finished second in the 1,500 and third in the 3,000-meters.
The Upstate squads also gained great experience in the different relays, as the men and women competed in the 4X100-meters, 4X400-meters and 4X800-meter relays, winning all but one.
"I'm happy with the results today but now we are looking to tomorrow when we travel to Georgia," Stephens said. "We are expecting to see some strong competition, and looking to keep improving on our own marks."
