COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Anderson University men's and women's track and field teams added seven personal-best efforts to their resumes, as the Trojans closed out the second day of the two-day Gamecock Opener on Saturday afternoon.
"Day two was just as good as day one for us," said Anderson head coach Kevin Eagle. "We ended up walking away with 12 indoor personal bests from the meet. Both squads are excited to see where two more weeks of training can bring their fitness level before our next competition at East Tennessee State. Again, it's a great start to our spring semester."
In the women's 5,000 meter run, senior Kelsey Horner finished seventh in a time of 18:52.28, with junior Hannah Beach crossing the finish line just behind in eighth place in a personal-best time of 18:57.29. Freshman Rebecca Ward (19:20.57) was 12th, while senior Emily Olson notched a career-best 21:42.72 and finished 17th.
Junior Olivia Rish claimed 11th place in the women's 800 meter run with a personal-best time of 2:22.73, with freshman Brianna Quartararo finishing 15th in a time of 2:24.97, which was less than a second off her personal-best set in December. Freshman Aubrey Stoddard posted a time of 2:30.53 for a 28th-place finish. Newcomer Autumn Bladen notched a season-best 2:30.94 and finished just behind in 29th place, with sophomore Melea Sangl claiming 40th in a time of 2:38.09.
On the men's side, junior Matthew Burgess finished 29th in the men's 800 meters in a career-best time of 2:01.06.
Sophomore Philip Quillen paced six Trojans in the men's 5,000 meter run in a time of 15:30.86 and finished fifth, with classmate Thomas Sutcliffe (15:50.81) slicing more than a half-minute off his previous personal best and crossing the finish line in eighth place. Freshman Michael Burgess (16:06.63) finished 13th and sophomore Brandon Wilson posted a career-best 16:14.98 to claim 14th place. Sophomore Noah McLain finished 16th in a time of 16:46.94 and junior Hayden Tuten was 19th in a time of 17:00.04.
Anderson will get back in action on Jan. 31 at the Buccaneer Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn.
