East Carolina University
Duke Twilight
Track Sends Three More To NCAA Regionals
May 04, 2009 | Track & Field
May 4, 2009
HIGH POINT/DURHAM, N.C. - The East Carolina track and field program added another school record and three more NCAA Regional qualifiers to its ledger as the Pirates completed preparations for the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. ECU sent groups of athletes to the Duke Twilight Meet in Durham and the High Point Invitational in High Point.
The Pirates earned eight event titles between the two meets while five of the six ladies hammer throw participants set personal records.
In High Point, freshman Amanda Lapp turned in the first top-three finish for ECU as she completed the 800m run in 2:20.67. Senior Hollie Brooks also took third-place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:05.25 before junior Samantha Lichtner grabbed third in the 3000m steeplechase (11:36.91). It was then the 4x400 relay team that turned in the first event title for the Pirates as the squad checked in with a season-best time of 3:54.51. Seniors Valeria Moore and Chante Sessoms also captured event championships, taking the high jump and long jump with marks of 1.65m and 5.62m, respectively.
For the men, a pair of upperclassmen in Matthew Dennish and Jarrett Newby became the latest additions to the NCAA regional qualifying list for the Pirates as they finished first and second, respectively, in the 800m run with times of 1:49.93 and 1:50.00. Mario Briscoe also fared well in the 400m hurdles, taking second-place (54.73) before Bayani Jones won the long jump event, recording a mark of 6.58m.
Over in Durham, Sessoms participated in the 400m dash and took second with a time of 55.83. Sophomore Stephanie McDougal also took second in her event, the pole vault, checking in at 3.50m. The highlight of the meet, however, came from senior Danielle Eiler as she once again broke her own school record, smashing the mark with an attempt of 47.88 and easily qualifying for the NCAA regionals in the process. Senior Amy Mueller also won her event, taking the title in the shot put with a throw of 12.46m.
Mario Briscoe turned in his second solid performance of the weekend in the 400m hurdles, beating his High Point Invitational time by clocking in at 53.46. The javelin throwers also shined, as freshman Sam Barnhardt and sophomore Michael McGilvary took first and second-place, respectively, with marks of 52.75m and 50.15m.
East Carolina will take the next weekend off to prepare for participation in the 2009 Conference USA Outdoor Championships. The meet is scheduled for May 14-16 in Tulsa, Okla.
