ECU Track Weekly Notes - 5/15
May 15, 2002 | Men's Track and Field
The Pirate track and field teams will head to Princeton, N.J., this weekend, May 17-19, as they take part in the IC4A/ECAC Track & Field Championships. Princeton University is the host school. The meet will be held at the Weaver Track & Field Stadium on the Princeton campus.
The men's team has qualified 12 student-athletes for the IC4A meet, while the women have qualified 17 for the ECAC meet. Last season, the women finished 21st of 46 scoring teams. The men finished fifth overall in 2001.
The women's team has qualified to compete in 12 events; the men have qualified in seven events. A complete list of competitors and events they have qualified for can be found on the performance lists on pages 8-9.
Founded in 1938, the Eastern College Athletic Conference is the nation's oldest collegiate athletic conference with over 270 member colleges. The ECAC Track & Field Championships are the second-largest meets next to the NCAA Championships. Athletes who finish in the top eight of their event earn the title of All-East. This conference is made up of member schools representing C-USA, the Big East, the Ivy League, and the Atlantic 10.
Conference USA Championships
The Pirates had several record performances at the Conference USA Championship meet held May 9-11 at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. Highlighting the performances was the men's 4x400 meter relay team who set a new C-USA Meet record with their time of 3:06.09. Leading the men's team was freshman B.J. Henderson who led the 4x400 team to first-place and also won the 400 meter dash with a NCAA provisional time of 45.68, his personal-best time. Junior Jeremy Carter also had a solid performance for the men's team as he finished fifth in the 200 meter dash with an NCAA provisional time of 20.80, fifth in the 100 meter dash (10.38), and guided the 4x100 relay team to third (40.07).
The women's team set five school records at the meet. Freshman Krystel Pabey finished fourth in the javelin setting a new school record at 148 feet. Freshman Terri Davenport broke Danita Roseboro's nine-year standing 200 meter dash record as she finished tenth in the preliminaries in 20.19 seconds, missing the cut by .07 of a second. Junior Colleen McGinn won the high jump with her height of 5 feet, 8.5 inches, tying her school record, while fellow junior Kelli Litten finished seventh overall in the steeplechase in 11:04.53. Freshman Tammie Mentzel tied her school record set earlier this year in the pole vault as she cleared 10 feet, six inches, good for eighth place.
Injury Update
Junior Julien Dunkly did not compete at the Conference USA Championships because of a strained left hamstring. He is listed as day-to-day.
108th Penn Relays
The Pirate track teams had strong performances accross the boards at the Penn Relays hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. The Penn Relays are regarded as the nation's most premier event in the sport of track and field.
For the first time ever, East Carolina qualified three sprint relay teams in the Championship of America finals -- the elite level at the Penn Relays. The Pirates finished sixth in the 4x100, third in the 4x200, and fourth in the 4x400. The only other team to field three relay squads in these events was Tennessee.
The women's 4x1500 meter relay team also competed in the Championship of America division. They finished 15th in a field of the nation's finest distance programs.
Falling Records
The East Carolina Track & Field record book will need several revisions following the 2002 season. To date, eight school records have been broken: seven by the women's team and one by the men's. The men's set a new 4x200 record (1:22.62) at the Penn Relays. The women to date have set new marks in the 200 meter dash, 1500 meter run, 3000 meter steeplechase, sprint medley relay, distance medley relay, high jump, pole vault, and javelin. Records are indicated on the performance sheets by the ($) symbol.
Balancing Act
The Lady Pirates could make a big run at both the Conference USA and ECAC Championship meets. The reason is their overall team balance. The team's main strength stems from their field events where seven Pirates hold top 10 rankings in the Conference USA performance list. Fifth-year seniors Margaret Clayton and Crystal Frye have will look to score the most points for the field event crew, but keep an eye on freshman Krystel Pabey who set a new ECU record in the javelin with her first collegiate throw.
On the track, the ECU sprinters are led by standout freshmen Terri Davenport and Darneshea Jones. Their individual and relay performances could mean big points in the speed events for the Pirates. East Carolina has a very solid corp of middle-distance and distance runners who are experienced in the big meets. Junior Kay Livick and sophomore Johanna Allen are the leaders of this group. Livick currently holds nine ECU track records, while Allen was the individual 2001 ECAC cross country champion this past fall.
Young Guns
The men's team is led by a talented corp of young talent. Among them, freshman B.J. Henderson has had the largest impact. Henderson is currently ranked 12th nationally in the 400 meter dash. He is also a member of the fifth ranked 4x400 squad and the sixth ranked 4x100 team. He also holds the fastest time in Conference USA in the 400 meters. Domonick Richmond has shown great improvement over the past season. He established a new personal-best at the Conference USA Championship meet in the 400 and helped the 4x400 team set a new C-USA Championship meet record.
Freshman Kyle MacKenzie has also had a successful outdoor season. He is currently the Pirate lead in both the 1,500 meter run and the 3,000 meter steeplechase. His times have him ranked eighth in C-USA in the 1,500 meter and seventh in the 3,000 meter SC. A trio of young hurdlers could equate to solid point production at the conference meet. Sophomores Steven Reid and Joe Dorgu along with freshman Pat Martin have made constant improvement over the season in the 400 meter hurdles. Reid and Martin are ranked in the conference's top 10, sixth and ninth respectively, while Dorgu is ranked 14th. Freshman Trent Fuchs has also seen dramatic improvements in his times over the course of the season in the middle distance events.
