Troy University Athletics
Another Impressive Showing for Trojans
4/10/2010 11:00:00 PM | Track & Field
Neko Freeman claimed a first place finish with a personal best time of 10.48 seconds, tying him for the best time on the team this season and the 33rd fastest time in the country. Teammate Stanley Arukwe finished second to Freeman with a time of 10.49 seconds, also a personal best and the third-fastest time on the team this season.
In the women's 400-meter dash, Ja-Courteny Alexander continued to impress, running a new personal best time of 55.38 seconds to claim the title by 0.28 seconds over Lutrisha Altidor of Alabama State.
Freshman Veronica Bryant continued the success for the Trojans in the one-day USA Invitational, claiming first place in the high jump with a clearance of 1.67 meters - tying her personal best and the team-high mark on the season.
In the men's high jump, freshman Larry Henry finished second with a new personal best of 2.03 meters. That jump finished 0.05 meters above his previous personal best and is a new team-high in 2010.
Meanwhile, in the 100-meter hurdles it was junior Naquita Rowe stealing the spotlight this weekend. After back-to-back medal finishes by Latoya Ragland, it was Rowe medaling at the USA Invitational in the event. The junior ran a time of 14.00 seconds to finish just 0.02 seconds behind Southeastern Louisiana's Judith Schiltheis.
While Rowe was finished in medal position in the 100-meter hurdles, senior Kapri Hockaday was doing the same in the 400-meter hurdles. The senior finished third overall with a season-best time of 1:04.25. That is just under a second from being the fastest time on the team this season. Freshman Luv Dean just finished outside the top three with a time of 1:06.84 (fifth place), as did freshman Tamara Curtis with a time of 1:08.92 (seventh place).
Senior Lamontrey Stamper returned to action this weekend after missing last week's meet, finishing second in the triple jump. He finished with a jump of 15.00 meters, topping his previous personal best of 14.82 meters and leaving him just outside the top four all-time at the school. He finished second to Michael Rheams of Southeastern Louisiana, who finished with a jump of 15.31 meters.
Meanwhile, on other field action, freshman Ashley Evans recorded a top three finish as she claimed third place with a throw of 40.26 meters. The throw is a new personal best for Evans, and is the third best throw on the team this season - trailing only senior Tiphanie Baker. She beat out teammates Nicole Studstill (38.96 meters) and Brynn Fosythe (38.95 meters) for honors on Saturday.
Although Forsythe did not medal in the discus, she did so in the hammer with a throw of 45.10 meters. The throw was good enough to get Forsythe to third place, finishing just behind Renada Living of Southeastern Louisiana and Latifah Johnson of South Alabama.
In the relay competition, the Troy 4x100-meter relay had high standards coming into the weekend off of last week's performance at Auburn. Although they did not beat the time set last week, the Trojan team finished second overall with a time of 40.86 seconds. The 4x400-meter relay team on the men's side narrowly missed a season-best time, crossing the line in a time of 3:18.72 for a third place finish.
Finishing just outside of medal contention for the Trojans were freshman Allison and Morgan Paulson in the 5000-meters. Morgan Paulson finished fourth overall with a time of 19:17.81, while her sister Allison Paulson finished fifth overall with a time of 19:22.10. The duo finished just over a second out of third place which was held by West Florida's Megan Steinocher.
The Trojans return to action next weekend for the second time in three weeks in Auburn, before returning home in two weeks to host the annual Coach O Invitational. For more information on Troy University athletics, and specifically the Coach O Invitational, visit TroyTrojans.com.
