East Carolina University
Penn Relays
Pirate Track Enjoys Success at Prestigious Penn Relays
April 30, 2006 | Men's Track and Field
April 30, 2006
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Senior hurdler Hector Cotto and a pair of relay squads picked up a combined six top 10 finishes and surpassed three NCAA Regional qualification marks to highlight the East Carolina men's track team's participation in the prestigious 112th running of the Penn Relays over the weekend at historic Franklin Field.
Cotto turned in his second straight NCAA qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles with a season-best effort of 14.08 to finish eighth in the college division. He followed with a ninth-place standing a day later in the championship heat with a time of 14.55.
ECU's 4x100 relay quartet, which consisted of freshman Jerek Hewett, freshman David Rucker, freshman Kevin Thompson and senior Reggie Williams Jr., earned their third-consecutive qualifying effort of the season with a time of 40.39 to pick up a sixth-place finish. The squad competed again in the 'Championship of America' finals and stood fourth (40.36), trailing only LSU (39.22), Tennessee (39.77) and Texas Christian (39.89).
After winning their qualifying heat, the Pirates' 4x200 relay squad (freshman Brandon Small, Hewett, Thompson Williams) finished second overall after clocking in with a season-best clip of 1:23.07. In the championship division race, ECU slowed slightly with a time of 1:26.36 to finish sixth.
East Carolina also added an 11th-place result in the 4x800 event as sophomore Matthew Dennish, freshman Aaron Mabry, freshman Jarrett Newby and senior Kyle Yunaska recorded a season-best effort of 7:38.46. Dennish and Yunaska also contributed on the Pirates' distance medley unit, joining senior Bryson Bowling and freshman William Collins for a 19th-place finish at 10:02.07.
Juniors Eric Frasure and Terrance Myers again paced ECU in the throw events, each registering NCAA Q marks in the hammer toss. Frasure, competing in the championship division, stood sixth with an effort of 61.44 meters - his best throw since a 61.55 performance at the Clemson Invitational April 8. Myers earned a fourth-place finish in the college division and established a new personal record with a toss of 59.49 meters - topping his previous career-best of 58.54 (Sea Ray Relays, April 15).
After taking a week off, the Pirates will return to action May 11-13 when they travel to El Paso, Texas to compete at the Conference USA Track & Field Championships.
