Throwers Pace Spartans At Last Challenge Before Championships
5/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 9, 2009
CLEMSON, S.C. - With the distance squads resting up for next week, the USC Upstate throwers and jumpers competed at the Clemson Orange and Purple Classic on Friday and Saturday in the final regular season meet before the Upstate track and field team journeys to Jacksonville, Fla., on May 15-16, for the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championships.
The young Spartan track and field squads continued to show improvement on Friday and Saturday as the program set four more program records and many athletes claimed personal bests amongst the likes of many talented programs including Clemson, Wake Forest, UNC Charlotte, St. Joseph's, Western Carolina and fellow A-Sun member, Kennesaw State.
"Our throwers had a really great outing today, breaking school records in the women's hammer throw and shot put," said Upstate's head track and field coach Jimmy Stephens. "Despite some of our injuries that we're trying to get over, we had a solid day and I'm really proud of how the team has come along and continuously improved throughout the season."
Kayla Speed set a new program-record on Friday in the women's hammer throw with a fifth-place toss of 40.59m, followed by LaTerrica Blocker in the seventh-place spot with a performance of 36.59m. The Spartans also saw three finishers in the top-10 in the men's hammer throw with Marc Wartenberger leading the way with a seventh-place finish of 44.07m. Eric Chapman and Kyle Wentzel finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Blocker also earned a career-best fourth-place finish in the women's shot put with a program-record toss of 11.15m. Marc Wartenberger and Eric Chapman competed in the shot put for the men.
Sophomore Gabrielle Walker improved upon her 100m dash time, setting a new school record with a finish in 12.87 seconds, while Kathryn Neely recorded a new program record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.60 seconds. Michael Meissner also achieved a season-best time in the men's 200m dash, finishing in under 23 seconds for the first time in his career with a time of 22.79. Joe Holzinger also competed on the track for the Spartans, posting a 12th-place, 2:01.63 finish in the 800m.
Reggie Thompson claimed a 5.89m performance in the men's long jump, while Gabrielle Walker notched a top-10 finish for the women's long jump with a 4.62m finish. Erin Tyre also achieved her best time of the season in the long jump, reaching 4.19m.
In the men's high jump, Perrish Goggins took fourth-place with a height of 1.95m and Thompson claimed sixth with a finish of 1.90m.
In the javelin throw, Spartans Kyle Wentzel, Reggie Thompson, Marc Wartenberger and Chris Weidensee all saw action. Wentzel led the way with a 41.94m toss and Thompson finished second among all Spartans with a performance of 36.63m in his first time ever competing in the event. Then, it was Wartenberger who topped all Spartans in the discus throw, reaching 37.55m and taking 13th-place.
"We put Reggie (Thompson) in some new throwing events to utilize his athleticism and he performed great today," Stephens said. "Terry Squibbs also had a fabulous performance today in the pole vault, reaching a foot-higher than he has all season and recording a PR."
Squibbs represented the Spartans in the men's pole vault, claiming a career-best performance of 4.45m.
"Overall, this meet gave us the last of what we needed in terms of competition before conference," Stephens said. "I'm excited to see what these athletes can do because they have come a long way throughout the season. We're excited for the women, especially, who will be competing in the outdoor championships for the first time."
The Spartans will depart for Jacksonville, Fla., next week for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships, slated for May 15-16. Live streaming and results will be available at www.atlanticsun.org.
