Monday, February 23, 2015

ASU Lady Hornets Win Seventh Consecutive Indoor Championship; Men Finish Fifth

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Alabama State University's Lady Hornets track and field team made it seven in a row when they won the 2015 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Indoor Track and Field Championship. The men's team captured a fifth overall team finish with 62 points.
 
The current winning streak started in 2009 and with today's championship, the Lady Hornets have now won eleven total indoor titles. ASU went into today's second day of events with a firm 17.5 point lead and pulled away from the field as they outscored second place finisher Texas Southern by 126.5 pts.

The Lady Hornets won several individual titles led by Quinta Collier who won the pole vault with a mark of 3.01m. Alexis Ferebee won the 60m dash with a time of 7.58. Artrailia Lesane won and set new SWAC record in the women's mile in 5:00.60. Santina Williams won the 200m (24.27) and 400m dash in 54.39. Tatiana Etienne not only won the 800m run but, set a new SWAC record of 2:10.52. Paige Rankine captured a first place finish in the 5,000m with a SWAC record time of 17:15.52.

"Our ladies fought hard today to capture this championship," Head Coach Ritchie Beene said. "The girls did exceptionally well and we had a lot of the girls to step up and respond well in a championship setting."


COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS
Alabama State University Women's Track and Field Team
2014-15 SWAC Indoor Track and Field Champions
ROSTER
Dikerria Wilson finished third (7.69) and Kadijah Gordon placed fifth with a 7.75 in the 60m dash. In the 200m dash Ferebee was sixth (25.01) and Gordon (25.14) finished seventh. The Lady Hornets saw Ferebee (54.83) capture second in the 400m and Kimberley Wedderburn finished third in 55.61.   

Rankine also had a strong showing in the women's mile finishing (5:02.16). In the 800m run Brandee Ebert (2:13.72) took second, Jerrica Mahone (2:14.25) placed third and Shantia Wilson captured sixth in the same event with a time of 2:17.62. Wilson also finished third in the mile with a time of 5:16.04.

Monica Howard (8.81), Narricka Williams (8.85), Alicia Terrell (8.96) added a sixth-seventh-eighth place finish in the 60m hurdles.

ASU had a strong showing in the three field event finals today. Imani White was fourth in the weight throw (16.02m).Monica Howard took fifth overall (2.61m) in the pole vault. The final field event was the triple jump and Gordon finished fourth (11.86m).

In the final event of the day the Lady Hornets team of Wedderburn, Williams, Etienne and Ferebee won the 4x400m relay breaking the SWAC record in 3:42.08. 

With the Lady Hornets championship, Ritchie Beene was named the Women's SWAC Indoor Coach of the Year.


"We had several athletes to break some records this weekend, including the 4x400m relay and Distance Medley Relay which was a positive, said Beene." 
 
The men fought hard on the second day and achieved a fifth overall finish. In the field events Chris Amisial finished second overall with a vault of 3.85m. O'Shane Shaw took third in the same event with a vault of 3.75m.  

"Today I was really excited with the way the men performed," Beene said.  "I like the positive direction that our men's team is heading into as we will regroup and get ready for outdoor season."

In the running events Devin O'Neal had an impressive showing as he finished fifth overall in the 60m (6.914), second in the 400m (48.49) and eighth in 200m (22.53). Carlos Flores and Bryont Brown finished fifth (1:56.29) and eighth (2:09.54) in the 800m run. Andrew Coicou (16:14.80) placed fourth and Tyree Newton (16:34.74) finished eighth in the 5,000m run.

The men's 4x400m relay team closed out the day with an impressive second place finishing in a time of 3:16.87. The relay team was made up of Shemar RannieRyan HallJustin Davis and O'Neal.

"I am very proud of our men's 4x400m relay they fought hard during the race and showed a lot of toughness to pull out the second place finish." said Beene.   

Today's action brings an end to the 2014-15 indoor season, as the Hornets will have some time off before setting their sights on the start of outdoor season beginning March 13-14th at the Battle of I-65 in Birmingham.


COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
                                                                                                                   

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