SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Anderson track and field teams wrapped up their outdoor seasons by continuing to see exceptional results in both the men's and women's events Saturday at the USC Upstate Invitational held at Spartanburg High School and Furman University.
Competing against teams from both Division I and D-II, the Trojans more than held their own, with the Trojan women capturing 20 top-10 finishes, including a first-place finish by Lauren Sloan in the javelin throw. Sloan, recently named the Conference Carolinas' Field Athlete of the Year, placed no worse than fourth in four events. She topped the field with her 32.97m distance in the javelin, garnered second in the shot put with a distance of 11.30m, collected third in the hammer throw at 41.46m and closed out her day by tossing the discus a distance of 36.84m to earn fourth.
Katelyn Rodgers recorded a distance of 7.88m to earn 10th in the shot put. Egle Bauzaite also posted two top-10 finishes, including third in the javelin throw (23.22) and seventh in the hammer event (27.97m). Teammate Paige Dockins earned 10th in both the discus (21.52m) and hammer throws (20.03m), while Durecelle Campbell notched second with a distance of 40.64m in the hammer event. AU's Krishaun Hall brought home a fourth-place finish (25.87) in the 200m dash as well as a seventh-place finish (12.75) in the 100m event, with Re'Jeania Evans (12.68) crossing the finish line in fifth in the 100m and sixth (26.40) in the 200m dash.
The distance events saw Whitney Bishoff garner third in the 3000m run with a time of 12:18.99, while freshman Kathryn Purinton crossed the line in fourth at 2:29.25 in the 800m run. Amanda Johnson ran a time of 20:10.22 in the 5000m to place fifth, with Isabel Berry's time of 5:20.29 good enough for ninth in the 1500m. Joelle Purinton (17:04) and Katelyn Rodgers (17:65) crossed the finish line in seventh and ninth, respectively in the 100m hurdles and Rodgers also finished second in the high jump with a height of 1.60m.
The men's team brought home 12 top-10 finishes, including Zach Hart's first-place in the pole vault with a height of 4.25m. Hart also garnered third in the javelin throw with his 45.62m effort. The Trojans were notable in both the distance and throwing events, as Will Byers and Derrike Black finished 2-3 in the shot put with distances of 12.98m and 11.20m. Byers also placed eighth in the hammer throw with his 40.38m distance and a distance of 31.54m in the discus event. Black posted a ninth-place finish in the hammer throw, at 28.43m. Trojan runner Alex Jordan placed second in the 1500m at 4:00.11, while Nigel Reynolds crossed the line in sixth with a time of 4:09.58. Alex Pena garnered fourth in the 5000m at 16:26.30, with Drew Mahaffey placing ninth in the 800m with a time of 2:03.26. AU's Jonathan Pack finished 10th in the 400m at 54.05.
