Track Turns In Strong Showing At Raleigh Relays
March 28, 2005 | Men's Track and Field
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Freshman Portia Baker, seniors Terri Davenport and Tara DeBrielle, and the Lady Pirates' 4x100 relay squad each turned in notable second-place finishes to guide the East Carolina women's track squad to a strong performance during the Raleigh Relays at the Paul Derr Track Complex over Friday and Saturday.
In addition, the men's team used six top 10 efforts, including a fourth-place finish by hammer thrower Eric Frasure, to officially open its spring outdoor schedule with participation in the Relays.
Baker stood second in the 400-meter dash sectional competition with a personal-best clip of 55.43, but ranked as the top collegian in the event ? solely trailing Nike's Debbie Dunn (54.01). Davenport finished as runner-up in the 200 meters with a time of 24.14 while DeBrielle was clocked at 2:10.90 in the 800-meter run, just .52 seconds behind champion Angeline Blackmon of N.C. State.
ECU's 4x100 relay squad, consisting of Baker, Davenport, Erica Montgomery and Chante Sessoms, also earned second-place status with a finish of 46.82. Sophomore Lindsey Rosales contributed a sixth-place showing in the pole vault with a 3.55-meter total and while Davenport recorded a career-best 11.96 mark in the preliminary round of the 100-meter dash but opted to compete in the 200-meter finals instead.
"It was an outstanding team opener," said women's coach Matt Munson, who took his entire team to Raleigh after opening the season last week in Wilmington with a partial squad. "Despite the cool and damp weather, I was really pleased with our effort. We should have a slew of regional qualifiers by the middle of the week."
On the men's side, freshman Matt Dennish was sixth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:53.81 while senior Kyle MacKenzie finished eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a clip of 9:22.92. Junior Hector Cotto missed the NCAA Regional qualifying time of just .10 seconds with a 10th-place standing in the 110-meter hurdles (14.43).
Sophomore Eric Frasure recorded personal-bests in the shot put (6th/14.42 meters) and the hammer throw (4th/54.32). Sophomore Terrance Myers also established a new career standard with a 54.28 mark (5th) in the hammer while senior Mayso Porch stood 11th with a toss of 49.70.
Both East Carolina squads will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Charlotte Invitational.
