University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Vince Brown Invitational
Spartans Re-write Record Books Again
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 6, 2010
Vince Brown Invitational Results
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - For the third consecutive meet of the indoor season, the USC Upstate track and field team broke school records. The Spartans set a total of nine new school marks at the Vince Brown Invitational hosted by Christopher Newport University.
"Overall, I was very pleased with the results," said head track and field coach Jimmy Stephens. "It was a great meet for our team, as several individuals set school and personal records."
Leading the charge was junior Gabrielle Walker (Chattanooga, Tenn./Mars Hill) and freshman Camille Masanotti (Ladson, S.C./Stratford). Walker set school marks in the 55-meter dash and the long jump. In the 55-meter dash, she posted a school-record time of 7.36 to qualify for the finals where she finished fourth with a time of 7.37.
Meanwhile, Masanotti broke records in the 55-meter hurdles and the high jump. In the 55-meter hurdles, Masanotti qualified for the finals with a school-record time of 8.96. In the finals she broke the record again with a time of 8.75 as she finished eighth. In the pole vault, she broke her own school record after clearing a height of 10-04.00/3.15m en route to a fifth-place finish.
"Camille's back was bothering her most of the week and I wasn't sure how she would respond," added Stephens. "I was really impressed by her effort and determination today. Gabrielle also had a great meet. She competed very well in all of the events that she competed in."
Abigail Osborne (Abbeville, S.C./Abbeville) set an Upstate record in the high jump. She cleared a height of 4-10.25/1.48m as she finished seventh.
In the women's weight throw, LaTerrica Blocker (Stone Mountain, Ga./Redan) set a personal-best with a toss of 42-06.00/12.95m. Her previous best came earlier this season at the Niswonger Invitational (1/22) when she posted a mark of 33-00.25. Joan Tangwar (Eldoret, Kenya/St. Joseph's Girls) also set a personal best. In the mile run, Tangwar posted a time of 5:28.85 as she posted a 16th-place finish.
In the 3000-meter and 5000-meter runs, two Spartans posted top-10 finishes. In the 3000-meter run, Carolyne Chelulei (Eldoret, Kenya/Alliance Girls) finished fourth with a time of 10:05.48, while Jemeli Sang (Eldoret, Kenya) finished 10th with a time of 10:21.00.
Mary Alexander (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg C.C.) posted a third-place finish in the 5000-meter run with a time of 18:37.02. Meanwhile, Laura Transue (Greenville, S.C./T.L. Hanna) finished ninth after a time of 20:44.07.
Four members of the men's team posted school-records on Saturday. In the weight throw, Eric Chapman (Cowpens, S.C./Broome) broke the record with a throw of 48-01.75/14.67m as he finished seventh. The previous record was set by James Miles with a throw of 46-08.00/14.22m that he posted at the Appalachian Limited (1/17/09). In the 55-meter hurdles, Brandon Curry (Anderson, S.C./Pendleton) broke the record that was held by fellow Spartan Reggie Thompson. Curry broke Thompson's record of 8.68 with a time of 8.00 as he finished 14th.
In the mile run, the record was broken in back-to-back heats. Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) set the school record at 4:33.18. Thomas' record would be short lived as in the very next heat, David Dennison (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) finished the mile run with a time of 4:22.67, earning him a fourth-place finish overall.
"After Cameron set the record he was so excited," said Stephens. "But then David came right behind him and broke the record, it was great to see two quality performances in the mile run today. I am proud of the effort that Cameron and David gave today."
The final school mark to fall on Saturday came in the 3000-meter run. Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya/Kangetuny) won the event with a time of 8:38.27 breaking the previous mark of 9:13.64, set by Cameron Thomas at the Niswonger Invitational (1/23). Kemboi won the race by nearly 10 seconds.
"Gilbert, as usual, had an outstanding run," said Stephens. "He was just 20 seconds off of the facility record and I was very impressed with his run." In the long jump, Graham Long set a personal mark with a jump of 18.09.25/5.72m. Long went on to finish 27th overall in the event.
The Spartans will return to action on Friday when they travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete in the UNC Meet. This will be the final tune-up for the Spartans before the Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships on February 26-27.
