Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Coach O Invitational
Records Fall at Coach O Invitational
4/23/2011 7:52:29 PM | Track & Field
Trojan student-athletes have impressive showing at home meet
FULL RESULTS :: PHOTO GALLERY
TROY, Ala. (TroyTrojans.com) – Despite competing in one of the hottest temperature meets of the season, the Troy University track and field program impressed the home crowd with a record-breaking performance at the 13th annual Coach O Invitational.
The Trojans competed in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, and Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jill Lancaster walked away impressed by her team's performance.
"We had a wonderful meet," Lancaster said. "Obviously being at home is great for our athletes, it's great for the families to get to come and see our athletes perform at a very high level. We take this meet very serious being the only meet we run at home all year. We have a saying 'Not in Our House', and we really held that up this weekend in front of a great crowd.
"It was a great quality meet, especially after dealing with rough weather last year. I appreciate all of the loyal teams that continue to come out and compete in this event. We really appreciate all of the officials and athletes for doing things the 'Trojan Way,' and that's all we can ask for."
The meet is annually put on by former Trojan Charles "Coach O" Oliver.
"Coach O continues to sponsor us each year," Lancaster said. "He is truly a great alumni and we really appreciate everything he does. We also want to thank our administration, the athletic department and the event staff really pulled it together and with all the events going on on campus this was one to be proud of."
There were many events the crowd wanted to see, but the javelin stole the show in the beginning as junior Martins Pildavs got an opportunity to perform in front of his home crowd for the first time - a month after shattering the school record in the javelin.
The junior defended his home turf, claiming first place in the javelin with a throw of 69.94 meters. The throw was four meters short of the school record that Pildavs threw earlier this year, but it the throw did set a new Coach O Invitational and Jesse H. Colley Track and Field Complex record.
Sophomore Cody Bahrke, although not breaking a Coach O Invitational, did set a new personal best and a new school record in the meet. The sophomore threw a distance of 55.45 meters in the hammer, setting a new personal best by five meters.
On the women's side, Erin Walker captured an individual championship in the discus with a throw of 42.00 meters to set the standard for the women on the afternoon. Brynn Forsythe (hammer), Karen Wyatt (hammer) and Nicole Studstill (hammer) all set new personal bests on Saturday. Studstill also finished second in the shot put with a throw of 12.99 meters; while Forsythe finished third in the discus and second in the hammer on the afternoon.
"I am proud of the way our throwers competed," assistant coach/throws coach Chip Brundage said. "I am extremely happy with the way our throwers responded with school records and setting new high standards at the university this season. They have done a great job all season in competing, and today was no different."
In other field events, Veronica Bryant finished second in the women's high jump with a jump of 1.64 meters; while on the men's side, Larry Henry and Grant Bullington finished second and third in the men's high jump with clearances of 2.07 meters and 2.02 meters, respectively.
In the women's long jump, Jasmine Patton claimed the Coach O Invitational title with a distance of 5.68 meters; while in the men's triple jump, Terrell Irons claimed first place in the meet with a distance of 14.86 meters.
On the track in distance competition, sophomore Enock Kirui finished second in the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:51.43. while also running in the 3000-meter steeplechase and claiming the title with a time of 9:23.94. The time is a new Coach O Invitational record, breaking the previous mark set last season of 9:31.30.
Sylvia Chirchir also finished first in the 3000-meters with a time of 10:37.62, her first time to run the event this season, while teammates Agnes Kapsoiyo and Morgan Paulson finished in the top five - fourth and fifth, respectively.
Kemper Morton, not to be outdone, claimed a championship in a distance race - the first of his career- winning the 1500-meters in a time of 4:05.38.
Meanwhile, in the sprints, sophomore Ja-Courtney Alexander finished first in the 400-meter dash with her best time of the season, recording a time 54.76 seconds. While on the men's side Stanley Arukwe finished second place in the men's 100-meter dash with a time of 10.44 seconds. Teammate Neko Freeman finished right behind Arukwe in a time of 10.48 seconds.
Arukwe also finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.93 seconds.
In the hurdles competition for the Trojans, Patton won her second championship at the Coach O Invitational as she won the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.26 seconds.
"Our team really stepped to the plate," Lancaster said. "We worked them really hard for preparation for the championships. I think we are headed down the right path, and after today our team knows we're on our way. We stepped to the plate and defended our house.
"Our athletes had less time to recover than they normally would with a rolling time schedule, so it became a really good workout combined with the heat and dehydration. But we are so proud of what they have done today, we couldn't ask for anything better. This coaching staff put on a great event."
For a complete listing of results, please click on the link above.
The Trojans return to action next Saturday as they travel to Mobile for the South Alabama/Birmingham-Southern dual meet.
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