Troy University Athletics
Monday, February 22
Birmingham, Ala.
Troy University
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Sun Belt Indoor Championship
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multi Events
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Pole Valut
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Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Multi Events
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Throws
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Distance
/ Track & Field
Women’s Track & Field Improves on Last Year’s Finish at Sun Belt Indoor Championship
2/24/2016 9:30:00 AM | Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Highlighted by sophomore Niata Alexander's second-place finish in the 400-meter dash and freshman Gemma Finch's runner-up performance in the pentathlon, Troy's women's track and field squad improved on last year's team finish by defeating four conference rivals for seventh place at the Sun Belt Indoor Championship hosted on Monday and Tuesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Upon the steady improvement, the Trojans had two huge statements at the Sun Belt Championships. Troy improved its final score from a year ago, when it scored only 12 points in 2015. This year the Trojans increased that number by 30 and scored 42 points, the most since 2009, when it scored 51.50. Finch also helped out in the improvements as she set a Sun Belt record in the 800-meter pentathlon run with a 2:18.59 time.
"I'm proud of the whole team for the way they set the tone early in the meet – they were tough competitors, and that shows from the amount of lifetime-best marks and overall improvement we saw this weekend," Marc Davis said. "Although we don't quite have the depth in all of the events yet, it's clear that we have the right foundation established for team-wide success in the future. I'm happy that things are moving in the right direction. In the meantime, we'll use this to set a standard for improvement for the upcoming outdoor season, where I'm confident we'll see even more progress."
Alexander collected eight points for the Trojans with her runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash, which came right down to the wire as she battled Arkansas State's Keturah Smith. Less than half of a second separated the two sophomores as Smith crossed the line in 55.06 seconds and Alexander closed in 55.40 seconds. Alexander's time was two-hundredths of a second off her personal-best indoor mark in the event, which she set at last year's championships. Junior Dallas Worthy also picked up points by finishing seventh for Troy in the 400-meter-dash finals with a new personal-best indoor time of 56.44 seconds.
In the 200-meter-dash finals, Alexander returned to the track with her classmate, Sydney Wright, to square off against a stacked field of eight sprinters who all finished within a second of each other in the preliminary rounds. In a personal-best indoor mark of 24.45 seconds, Wright secured five points for Troy as she finished fourth overall. Alexander was only a hundredth of a second behind her in 24.56 seconds for fifth place and an additional four points.
In the pentathlon, Finch and junior Riley Schwietz both recorded lifetime-best scores to earn Troy nine points from the event. Finch accumulated 3,521 points for second place overall, while junior Riley Schwietz finished eighth with 3,288 points. Along with Finch's record setting 800-meter pentathlon performance, she also took second in the high jump by tying her personal-best height of 1.67 meters (5'05.75"), which contributed to nearly half of her total score.
At the end of the meet, Alexander and Worthy teamed up with freshmen Ashley McDonald and Tiarra Bailey to run the 4x400-meter relay, where they ran to a season's-best time of 3:49.02 minutes for fourth place and five points. Worthy ran the final leg in a blistering 55.67 seconds, the second-fastest split among the rest of the anchors.
In the pole vault, sophomore Carissa Madson got close to surpassing her personal-best height by clearing 3.47 meters (11'4.5"), which tied for ninth place with sophomore Danyelle Glass of Texas State. Freshman Indiya Summerville also took ninth place in the shot put with a 14.17-meter (46'6") toss. In the mile, Sara Zylstra ran a lifetime-best mark of 5:13 minutes.
On Monday, Finch snagged four points for Troy in a three-way tie for fourth place in the high jump with a 1.66-meter (5'05.25") effort, which ties her own personal-best mark in the event. In the weight throw, sophomore Jaevyn Wortham scored three points and took sixth place by recording her farthest toss ever, 17.49 meters (57'04.75").
The Trojans will begin their outdoor track and field season on Friday, March 5, at South Alabama's Jaguar Opener in Mobile, Ala.
Fans can keep up with the action by following Troy track and field and cross country on Instagram @TroyTrojansTFXC.
For more information on Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram @TroyAthletics and Facebook by searching Troy Athletics.
Upon the steady improvement, the Trojans had two huge statements at the Sun Belt Championships. Troy improved its final score from a year ago, when it scored only 12 points in 2015. This year the Trojans increased that number by 30 and scored 42 points, the most since 2009, when it scored 51.50. Finch also helped out in the improvements as she set a Sun Belt record in the 800-meter pentathlon run with a 2:18.59 time.
"I'm proud of the whole team for the way they set the tone early in the meet – they were tough competitors, and that shows from the amount of lifetime-best marks and overall improvement we saw this weekend," Marc Davis said. "Although we don't quite have the depth in all of the events yet, it's clear that we have the right foundation established for team-wide success in the future. I'm happy that things are moving in the right direction. In the meantime, we'll use this to set a standard for improvement for the upcoming outdoor season, where I'm confident we'll see even more progress."
Alexander collected eight points for the Trojans with her runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash, which came right down to the wire as she battled Arkansas State's Keturah Smith. Less than half of a second separated the two sophomores as Smith crossed the line in 55.06 seconds and Alexander closed in 55.40 seconds. Alexander's time was two-hundredths of a second off her personal-best indoor mark in the event, which she set at last year's championships. Junior Dallas Worthy also picked up points by finishing seventh for Troy in the 400-meter-dash finals with a new personal-best indoor time of 56.44 seconds.
In the 200-meter-dash finals, Alexander returned to the track with her classmate, Sydney Wright, to square off against a stacked field of eight sprinters who all finished within a second of each other in the preliminary rounds. In a personal-best indoor mark of 24.45 seconds, Wright secured five points for Troy as she finished fourth overall. Alexander was only a hundredth of a second behind her in 24.56 seconds for fifth place and an additional four points.
In the pentathlon, Finch and junior Riley Schwietz both recorded lifetime-best scores to earn Troy nine points from the event. Finch accumulated 3,521 points for second place overall, while junior Riley Schwietz finished eighth with 3,288 points. Along with Finch's record setting 800-meter pentathlon performance, she also took second in the high jump by tying her personal-best height of 1.67 meters (5'05.75"), which contributed to nearly half of her total score.
At the end of the meet, Alexander and Worthy teamed up with freshmen Ashley McDonald and Tiarra Bailey to run the 4x400-meter relay, where they ran to a season's-best time of 3:49.02 minutes for fourth place and five points. Worthy ran the final leg in a blistering 55.67 seconds, the second-fastest split among the rest of the anchors.
In the pole vault, sophomore Carissa Madson got close to surpassing her personal-best height by clearing 3.47 meters (11'4.5"), which tied for ninth place with sophomore Danyelle Glass of Texas State. Freshman Indiya Summerville also took ninth place in the shot put with a 14.17-meter (46'6") toss. In the mile, Sara Zylstra ran a lifetime-best mark of 5:13 minutes.
On Monday, Finch snagged four points for Troy in a three-way tie for fourth place in the high jump with a 1.66-meter (5'05.25") effort, which ties her own personal-best mark in the event. In the weight throw, sophomore Jaevyn Wortham scored three points and took sixth place by recording her farthest toss ever, 17.49 meters (57'04.75").
The Trojans will begin their outdoor track and field season on Friday, March 5, at South Alabama's Jaguar Opener in Mobile, Ala.
Fans can keep up with the action by following Troy track and field and cross country on Instagram @TroyTrojansTFXC.
For more information on Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram @TroyAthletics and Facebook by searching Troy Athletics.
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