Spartans Earn 12 All-Conference Nods, Wrap Up Strong 2011 Season
4/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate outdoor track & field teams wrapped up a strong spring season by placing 12 individuals on the all-conference team following the 2011 A-Sun Outdoor Championships.
In all, Upstate broke 23 school records during the outdoor season, 15 on the men's side and eight on the women's side. Justin Crawford highlighted the season when he claimed his second outdoor pole vault championship when he tied the conference record with a vault of 4.75 meters at the 2011 A-Sun Outdoor Championships.
Upstate's track & field athletes won seven individual titles in meets throughout the season. Perrish Goggins led the way, taking three individual meet championships. He won the high jump at both the Catamount Classic and Furman Invitational, while winning the long jump at Furman. Michael Meissner won the 100-meter dash at the Furman invitational, while Michael Johnson claimed the 400-meter title at Furman. Abby Osborne won the pole vault championship at the Furman Invitational, while Crawford capped the year with his pole vault win at the conference meet.
The 2011 A-Sun Outdoor Championships finished off the season and the Spartans turned in solid performances. The men's team claimed a fourth-place finish, while an inexperienced women's team finished eighth, but gained valuable experience for the future. In all, Upstate placed 12 individuals on the all-conference teams at the championships.
Crawford led the way for Upstate, earning first-team all-conference honors with an A-Sun and school record vault of 4.75 meters to win the championship. He also won the pole vault at the 2009 conference meet.
Goggins earned second team honors when he finished second in the high jump and third team honors when he finished third in the high jump.
Joining Goggins as second team all-conference selections were Michael Johnson for finishing second in the 800 meters, and Johnson, Cameron Thomas, Matt Johnson and Meissner for the team's second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. The team was last in the 2010 meet, making a tremendous improvement in the event.
Meissner and Thomas also earned third team all-conference honors after finishing third in the 400 meters and 800 meters, respectively.
On the women's side, Jemeli Sang turned in a tremendous A-Sun Championship and earned two third team all-conference recognitions. She finished third in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races.
