Three Medals Put Upstate Men in Second at Day One of A-Sun Championships
5/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 15, 2009
Day One Outdoor Championship Results 
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - The USC Upstate men's track and field team had medal winners in the pole vault, long jump and hammer throw to put them in the second-place spot with 36 points after Friday's day one of competition at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Upstate women are in sixth-place with nine points.
"The team looked strong in almost every event today," said Upstate's head track and field coach Jimmy Stephens. "To be in second-place after day of competition is spectacular for our program. We knew we would have a strong day today, we just have to make sure we stay consistent for tomorrow's events."
Justin Crawford took the individual title in the pole vault for the second consecutive season after winning the event during the indoor conference championships. The sophomore also set a new personal and school record with his first-place finish of 4.60m, earning 10 points for the Upstate men's squad. Joining him with a first-place medal was Perrish Goggins, who topped all competitors with a 7.04m long jump performance. Goggins' finish also marked a personal best and school-record jump.
"Justin and Perrish earned us a solid 20 points with their first-place finishes, which came up huge," Stephens said. "Our throwers performed just as we had hoped and Reggie Thompson also looked great in the decathlon for us."
Senior SGA President, Marc Wartenberger, also earned a medal in Saturday's competition with a third-place finish in the hammer throw, taking six points and representing the third Spartan of the day to earn a new program record. Wartenberger bested his previous top performance with a mark of 47.34m and was only .63m out of the first-place spot.
On the women's side, senior Kayla Speed and freshman Jemeli Sang led the way with respective sixth-place and second-place finishes in their events, helping the team finish day one with nine points. Speed took sixth in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 43.13m, setting a program record and earning a personal best of nearly 10 feet. Sang made her mark as a freshman in the 10,000m run, notching the second-place spot with a personal best finish of 36:54.73.
"The women's 10k was perfect up until the five mile mark for us," said Upstate's distance coach Ed Schlichter. "We had the lead by nearly 30 seconds. Unfortunately, it's a 6.2 mile race. I'm proud of both Jemeli (Sang) and Emily (Tangwar) because they worked together and followed the plan exactly, but Emily got a little dizzy and was unable to finish. Jemeli picked up the slack as a freshman and posted a strong second-place finish."
Eric Chapman also scored points for the Spartans with a fifth-place finish in the men's hammer throw with a performance of 44.78m. Kyle Wentzel and LaTerrica Blocker also saw action in the hammer throw on Friday.
Freshman Reggie Thompson took the fourth-place spot in the men's long jump, reaching a personal best distance of 6.63m. Thompson spent Friday morning competing in the 100m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m events of the men's decathlon. He currently ranks in second after day one. The decathlon will resume Saturday morning. Joseph Jiles also saw a personal best in the long jump with a performance of 6.33m.
Gabrielle Walker competed in the women's long jump and 100m dash, posting respective finishes of 4.55m and 13.02 seconds. Erin Tyre represented the Spartans in the women's heptathlon, posting a third-place performance in the shot put event and a fourth-place finish in the 200m dash.
James Jackson, Matt Henderson and Brent Durden all competed in the men's 10,000m run.
"The guys were running with a very elite group of athletes," Schlichter said. "It was hard company to be in but they accepted the pace early on. Tonight's race will be an experience that will benefit them in the future."
"We did the things we needed to do to put ourselves in the position we're in," Stephens added. "I'm very proud of the team and excited for tomorrow."
ETSU ranks first in the men's scoring with 54 points, while Upstate is in second with 36 points and Kennesaw State in third with 22 points. On the women's side, Kennesaw State is in the lead with 61 points, followed by Jacksonville in second with 36 points and UNF in third with 26 points.
The final day of the A-Sun Conference Championships will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. with the remaining events of the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon. Field event finals will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the men's high jump, women's discus throw and women's triple jump. Action will then continue throughout the day with the championship presentation slated for 9 p.m.
