East Carolina University
Conference USA Outdoor Championships
Men Take Fourth At C-USA Outdoor Championships
May 17, 2009 | Track & Field
May 17, 2009
Complete C-USA Outdoor Championship Meet Results
TULSA, Okla. - The East Carolina track and field program earned three conference titles while completing its participation in the 2009 Conference USA Outdoor Championships at Tulsa, Okla. The men matched their highest finish in program history, taking fourth, while the women ended up in 10th-place.
Three Pirates won conference titles, including a repeat championship performance by Kevin Thompson in the 200m dash, while ECU also turned in eight more NCAA regional qualifying times or marks. Additionally, 11 athletes four their way onto the awards podium during the three days.
After easily qualifying for the finals of the 100m dash, Thompson took second-place in the event with a time of 10.44. Adian Sanderson also turned in a NCAA qualifying time in the prelims, notching a mark of 10.47. In the 200m dash, Thompson captured the event for the second-straight season, clocking in at 21.03. Christopher Richardson podiumed in the 400m dash, taking second-place with a time of 46.63, sending him to the NCAA regionals while also breaking the stadium record in the process. In the 800m run, Jarrett Newby collected a top-three finish for the second-consecutive season, placing second and notching a time of 1:52.25 while Matt Dennish sat fourth, running the event in 1:53.40.
In the 110m hurdles, Kris Bell added another piece of hardware to his 2009 collection, taking the conference title in the event with a time of 14.22, which also qualified him for the NCAA regionals. Bell also won the 60m hurdles in the indoor season. Both the 4x100 (third) and 4x400 (second) relay teams also finished in the top three, checking in at 40.55 and 3:12.27 respectively.
The Pirates also had two athletes compete in the decathlon for the first time in school history, as Sebastien Biau and Jacques Ray finished in third and fifth-place with point totals of 6,174 (new school record) and 5,060. Bayani Jones also scored points for the team in the long jump, taking sixth with an attempt of 7.12m.
For the ladies, the 4x400 relay team picked up a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 3:48.14. Stephanie McDougal also collected a first-place tie in the pole vault with a heave of 3.65m. Danielle Eiler continued her successful campaign in the discus, breaking her own school record and finding the podium with a third-place finish (49.01m). In the javelin, Nicole Tozzi threw a 42.02, good for team points and sixth-place.
"I was extremely proud of how we competed this weekend at the conference meet," head coach Curt Kraft said. "Both the men and the women accomplished some great things and we are definitely headed in the right direction as a program. We look forward to continuing the season in the NCAA regionals"
East Carolina's 12 qualified athletes will take the next two weeks to prepare for the NCAA East Regional Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Thompson headlines the Pirate participation, as he will compete in the 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay events. The meet is scheduled for May 29-30 at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.
