Pirates Fourth At C-USA Track Championships After Day Two
May 13, 2006 | Men's Track and Field
May 13, 2006
EL PASO, Texas - Freshman Jerek Hewett bested NCAA Regional qualification minimums and advanced to the league finals in two events to pace East Carolina through second-day action at the Conference USA Track & Field Championships at Kidd Field late Friday night.
Hewett earned regional post-season appearances in the 100 and 200-meter preliminary heats with 10.50 (6th) and 21.19 (6th) times, respectively. In addition, Akintunde Abisogun surpassed NCAA standards by finishing fourth in the long jump competition after a personal-best leap of 7.36 meters.
Houston's 80 points leads all men's standings as host UTEP has 62 points for second place. Rice and ECU are neck and neck with 36 and 33 points for third and fourth place while Memphis (28) currently sits fifth entering the last day of competition
Prior to the track preliminaries, the Pirates tallied points in three field events as Eric Frasure posted the program's top finish of the day with a third-place standing in the shot put. Frasure's effort of 16.60 meters also broke a 32-year-old ECU record that was previously held by Dennis Moody (16.36). Gary Freeman stood seventh in the event with a personal-record toss of 14.87.
Hector Cotto also established a new personal-best with a long jump of 7.06 meters (7th) while Nick Boerio (45.25 in the javelin) and Christopher Belfiore (10:23.57 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase) locked up a pair of ninth-place results.
A total of seven athletes, including Hewett, turned in strong preliminary outings to earn advancement to Saturday night's finals. Cotto (14.52) and Kris Bell (14.95) made the cut in the 110-meter hurdles while Brandon Small (47.32) and Bryson Bowling (PR 47.59) will compete for the title in the 400 meters.
David Rucker will join Hewett in the 100-meter finals after recording a personal-best time of 10.52. In the 200 meters, Small and Kevin Thompson both booked personal records after clocking in at 21.33 and 21.40, respectively.
MEN'S STANDINGS
1. Houston, 80 points
2. UTEP, 62
3. Rice, 36
4. East Carolina, 33
5. Memphis, 28
6. Tulsa, 22
7. Southern Miss, 9
