University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
49er Classic
Upstate Completes First Day of Competition at 49er Classic
3/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
March 19, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the first meet of the 2010 outdoor season, two Spartans won events on Friday afternoon at the 49er Classic. Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya/Kangetuny) and Jemeli Sang (Eldoret, Kenya/Biwott Ngelel-Tarit) won the 5,000-meter runs.
On the men's side Kemboi, who was competing unattached, won the race in a time of 14:32.24. He won the race by more than five seconds. Sang completed the 5,000-meter run in 17:29.84, winning the race by less than two-tenths of a second.
James Jackson (Aiken, S.C./Aiken) recorded a time of 15:38.01 as he finished 33rd in the 5,000-meter run. Jackson broke his own school record of 15:49.53. Matt Henderson (Inman, S.C./Dorman) also competed in the event, finishing 43rd with a time of 15:55.66.
Mary Alexander (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg C.C.) and Lauren Walker (Columbia, S.C./Lugoff-Elgin) finished posted top-20 finishes in the 5,000-meter run. Alexander finished 16th with a time 18:17.96, while Walker finished 19th with a time of 18:23.38. Laura Transue (Greenville, S.C./T.L. Hanna) also competed in the event Friday, finishing 38th with a time of 19:54.21.
Juniors Gabrielle Walker (Chattanooga, Tenn./Mars Hill) and LaTerrica Blocker (Stone Mountain, Ga./Redan) competed in the women's hammer throw on Friday afternoon. Competing in the event for the first time ever, Walker finished 15th as she recorded a throw of 122-06.00 (37.35m). Meanwhile, Blocker finished 23rd after a mark of 112-02 (34.18m). Blocker also competed in the women's discus throw and finished 20th. She recorded a toss of 100-03.00 (30.55).
Camille Masanotti (Ladsen, S.C./Stratford) became just the second Spartan ever to compete in the outdoor pole vault. Masanotti posted a fifth-place finish on Friday after clearing a height of 10-06.00 (3.20m) setting a new Upstate school record.
In the men's hammer throw, Eric Chapman finished 18th-overall. The Cowpens, S.C. native recorded a throw of 136-07.00 (41.64m).
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Brandon Curry (Anderson, S.C./Pendleton) set a new school record with a time of 15.03. Curry was less than a tenth of a second away from qualifying for tomorrow's finals. The freshman broke the old record of 15.80 held by Reggie Thompson, which was set at last season's A-Sun Outdoor Championships.
Danny Moore (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) continued the record-breaking day for Upstate on Friday. Moore's time of 56.28 in the 400-meter hurdles surpassed the old record of 56.98 that was set by DeNeal Cotton at the Weems Baskin Relays in 2008. In the 200-meter dash Michael Meissner (Cottage Grove, Minn./UW-River Falls) finished with a mark of 22.44, which was less than eight tenths of a second from putting him in the finals.
Sophomore Carolyne Chelulei (Eldoret, Kenya/Alliance Girls) competed in the 1500-meter run for the Spartans at the 49er Classic. Chelulei finished seventh after an event time of 4:41.43. It was a new personal-best for Chelulei and she was less than three-seconds away from posting a top-five finish as Alyssa Kulik of Clemson finished in 4:38.47.
In the men's 1500-meter run, Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) finished 40th in a field of 80 competitors with a time of 4:09.43. The freshman's time breaks the old school mark of 4:13.56 which was set by Matt Henderson at last season's Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. Dustin Thomas (Harrisburg, N.C./Hickory Ridge) also competed in the event on Friday. He posted a time of 4:25.61 for a 63rd-place finish.
Upstate will wrap up the 2010 49er Classic tomorrow before splitting up and heading to two different meets next week.
