Troy University Athletics
Freshmen Lead Trojans at Conference Meet
3/1/2010 1:00:00 AM | Track & Field
This season, the Trojans turned to freshmen Veronica Bryant and Ja-Courteny Alexander to win a pair of medals at their first conference meet. Each of the student-athletes won an individual and then teamed together in the relay competition to win another medal.
The freshman rewrote the history books in the 400-meter dash for the Trojans, capturing a silver medal along the way. Alexander ran a time of 56.11 seconds in the finals, finishing second only to Kellie Morrison's time of 55.32 seconds. The time was good enough to break the school record held by LeUrsula Lumpkin (set in 2001).
The freshman ran the third-fastest time in the event in the prelims, crossing the line in a time of 57.06 seconds - which at the time was the second fastest time in school history. She was joined in the event by Ariel Cavazos (59.82 seconds), Tamara Curtis (59.94 seconds) and Luv Dean (1:00.31).
Alexander finished fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.35 seconds, finishing less than .34 seconds behind the top overall finisher - Alysha Adams of North Texas - and just .22 seconds out of medal contention. The freshman ran the fastest time in the preliminary round with a time of 24.36 seconds - a new personal best this season.
Both times broke her previous season-best of 25.06 seconds set at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Valentine's Day. The time is also the second-fastest time in school history, trailing just Tawanna Meadows' time of 23.94 seconds, set in 2008.
The 4x400-meter relay team comprised of Ariel Cavazos, Ja-Courteny Alexander, Veronica Bryant and Kapri Hockaday captured a silver medal in the competition with a time of 3:56.00. The group finished less than three seconds behind the gold medal winners from North Texas.
The time in the 4x400-meter relay was the fastest of the season for the Trojans, and it tied for the third fastest time in school history.
Meanwhile, fellow freshman Veronica Bryant won her second medal of the day in the high jump as she cleared a height of 1.63 meters (5-04.25). The jump was the highest of the season for the Trojans, setting a new personal best for Bryant and is the fourth-best jump in school history.
She was joined in the competition by Kapri Hockaday, who finished eighth with the same height.
Fellow freshman, Simone Pugh also ran in the 200-meters as she finished 16th overall in the prelims, running a time of 25.53 seconds - a new personal best for the freshman, breaking her previous mark of 25.79 seconds set at the Blue Raider Invitational. They were both joined by Tamara Curtis, who finished with a time of 25.93 seconds, and Ashley Hall, who finished with a time of 26.57 seconds, in the sprint event.
In the 55-meter competition, the Trojans did not have a runner qualify for the finals, but did have two participants in the preliminary round. Pugh narrowly missed the finals with a time of 7.20 seconds in the prelims, finishing just 0.12 seconds behind the final qualifier. She was joined in the prelims by freshman Ashley Hall in the prelims, who crossed the line with a time of 7.39 seconds.
Meanwhile, in the middle distance competition, freshman Chalyce Stancil finished 15th in the 800-meters - missing the final by just four seconds. She came across the line with a time of 2:22.85 seconds; while teammate Kapri Hockaday came across 19th overall with a time of 2:25.21.
In the distance competition, junior Kelly Harrington finished 18th overall with a time of 5:32.34; while teammate Anastasia Limo finished 28th overall with a time of 5:43.13. Meanwhile, in the 3000-meters a pair of freshmen and a transfer highlighted the runners for the Trojans. Freshman, Morgan Paulson finished with a time of 10:56.05 - a new personal best; while fellow freshman and sister Allison Paulson finished 18th with a new personal best time of 11:02.97. Meanwhile, semester transfer Agnes Kapsoiyo finished 21st with a time of 11:13.08. Limo rounded out the field for the Trojans in the 3000-meters with a time of 11:41.96.
In the final distance competition of the day, Sylvia Chirchir finished 10th overall with a time of 18:18.59; narrowly missing scoring points for the Trojans by less than three seconds. Morgan Paulson ran a time of 19:01.05, sister Allison Paulson a time of 19:11.42, Kapsoiyo a time of 19:15.40 and Harrington a time of 19:32.69 to round out the field.
In the 55-meter hurdle competition, junior Latoya Ragland narrowly missed out on a medal in the competition as she cross the line fourth with a time of 7.99 seconds. She missed a medal by just 0.02 seconds - finishing behind Louisiana-Lafayette's Jasmine Anderson.
Fellow hurdlers Naquita Rowe (8.28), Veronica Bryant (8.96) and Jasmine Patton (9.82) rounded out the field in the preliminary round.
In the long jump competition, Ragland was the top finisher for the Trojans as she jumped a distance of 5.48 meters (17-11.75) to finish 10th. She was joined by Cavazos, who finished 11th with a distance of 5.46 meters (17-11.00).
Meanwhile, in the triple jump competition, Bryant finished ninth with a jump of 11.38 meters (37-04.00), while Ragland finished 11th with a jump of 11.25 meters (36-11.00). They were joined in the competition by Patton, who finished 21st with a jump of 10.75 meters (35-03.25).
In the throws competition, senior Tiphanie Baker finished just outside medal contention in the weight throw. She finished fifth with a throw of 16.62 meters (54-06.50), while teammate Brynn Forsythe finished ninth with a throw of 15.75 meters (51-08.25). Freshman Dee Richards finished 13th with a throw of 14.30 meters (46-11.00), while Nicole Studstill finished with a throw of 11.99 meters (39-04.00).
In the shot put, Baker was the top finisher for the Trojans with a throw of 13.21 meters (43-04.25), finishing seventh overall. She was joined by Forsythe in 11th place with a throw of 12.22 meters (40-01.25), Studstill a throw of 11.35 meters (37-03.00) and Richards with a throw of 11.23 meters (36-10.25).
Chontia Allen was able to compete in the pentathlon for the first time this season and she finished 14th overall with a point total of 2862.
The Trojans will send a few student-athletes to the NCAA Indoor Qualifier in Baton Rouge next week, while the remainder of the team will change gears and get ready for the outdoor season which starts March 13 at the Southern Miss Invitational.
