CLEMSON, S.C. - The Anderson University track and field teams
opened the 2011 schedule with strong outings Friday and Saturday at
Clemson's JRF Combined Events Invitational at the Tiger's Indoor
Track & Field Complex.
Anderson, one of only three NCAA Division II teams competing in the
event - Limestone and Benedict were the other - garnered 19 top-20
individual finishes among several stellar performances in its
debut, while junior standout distance runner Whitney Bishoff
captured first place in the 3000 meter with a school-record time of
10:14.67.
Two additional school marks were broken on the women's side, as freshman Lydia Davis claimed 16th in the mile run with a time of 5:27.37, while sophomore Joelle Purinton posted a time of 10.59 in the 60m hurdle preliminaries to set another school record.
Freshman Hannah Robles (11:52.86) and sophomore Amanda Johnson (12:24.84) crossed the line in the 3000 meter in 20th and 22nd, respectively, while Emily Eckroth (5:33.23) and Kristin Page (6:21.82) earned 19th and 23rd in the mile run.
Another rookie, Madison Guest, garnered 25th in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:04.42 to wrap up AU's individual top-25 track finishes.
The Trojan women's distance medley team, consisting of Bishoff, Eckroth, Lydia Davis and Krishaun Hall, earned second with a time of 12:49.75.
Senior Katelyn Rodgers notched a fifth-place finish in the high
jump with a height of 1.60 meters, while thrower Lauren Sloan
placed 15th (10.16m)in the shot put and 19th (11.28m) in the weight
toss. Senior teammate Durecelle Campbell claimed 15th in the weight
throw at 12.12 meters and Paige Dockins earned 22nd with a shot put
distance of 6.96 meters.
Five school records fell on the men's side, as Josh Butler notched
13th in the 60 meter dash preliminaries with a time of 7.14 to
qualify for the finals, then ran a school-record time of 7.10 to
finish 13th. Freshman Terrance Jefferson posted a school-record
23.31 time in the 200 meter dash to earn 15 th while sophomore Matt
Shaffer garnered 13th in the 800 meter run in a time of 1:59.51 and
teammate Drew Mahaffey (2:06.74) crossed the line in 25th.
Freshman Kyle Koby posted a ninth-place finish in the 5000 meter with a school-record time of 16:10.71, while Zach Hart finished sixth in the pole vault with a school-record height of 4.50 meters.
Deniz Hay (4:34.74), Nigel Reynolds (4:35.92) and Will Belue (4:47.73) finished 17th, 19th and 23rd in the mile run, while Alex Pena (9:19.22), Parks Edwards (9:23.16) and Matthew Imes (10:06.07) collected 19th, 20th and 25th in the 3000 meter.
Two Trojans earned top-20 finishes in the shot put, with Will Byars (12.82m) and Derrike Black (9.23m) finishing 13th and 20th respectively.
Black also garnered 15th in the weight toss with a distance of 9.36 meters and freshman Brant Bullister finished 17th with a throw of 9.20 meters.
Anderson will be back in action on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 4-5, at
the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State in
Johnson City, Tenn.
