Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Bulldog Invitational
Track and Field Breaks Two More School Records at Bulldog Invitational
3/31/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
The Murray State track and field team began their outdoor season Saturday, with a strong showing at the Bulldog Invitational on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss.
Overall, the Racers finished fourth out of nine teams with 83 cumulative points, with host Mississippi State winning with 137 points. Individually, the team won four events, had one regional qualifier, and two more broken school records, making that nine school records broken so far in 2008.
Sophomore Taylor Crawford kept her momentum going from her 800 meter victory at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships, winning the same event with a time of 2:15.25.
Freshman Katelyn Jones broke a school record in the 3000 meter steeplechase, winning the event with a time of 10:59.14.
In the high jump, Chelsea Hosey's jump of 1.65 meters (5-05.00) bested seven other competitors and earned her the top finish in the event. Rachel Haley also competed in the high jump event, jumping 1.50 meters (4-11.00).
Senior Emi Yamamuro took first place in the javelin throw, with a toss of 45.71 meters (150-00), automatically qualifying her for the NCAA regionals. Yamamuro's toss was also a school record, besting the 141-4 throw by Kylee Lyon in 1999.
Senior Laura Schroeder also placed in the javelin throw, with a fifth place finish for her 37.14 meter (121-10) toss. Felicia Hargis also competed for the Racers, finishing in 12th place with a throw of 28.14 meters (92-04).
In the 100 meter dash, freshman Audris Williams placed fifth out of 22 runners, with a time of 12.35. Williams also competed in the 200 meter dash, finishing 13th out of 31 runners with a time of 25.26. Freshman Amber Mills also placed in the 200 meter dash event, running the course in 26.77 seconds, good enough for 24th place.
Mills was the only Racer to run in the 400 meter dash event, finishing in seventh place with a time of 59.53.
In the 400 meter hurdles, Meagan Richeson came in fifth place out of 13 competitors with a time of 1:05.70, while Sydney Gholston ran the course in 1:11.31, placing 10th.
In the long jump, Williams finished in sixth place out of 16 jumpers with a 5.39 meter (17-08.00) jump. Also competing in the event for the Racers was Hosey (eighth place, 5.26 meters (17-03.25)) and Olivia Joseph (12th place, 5.13 meters (16-10.00)).
In the shot put, the Racers placed four in the top-12 of the 27-person event. Dominique Robinson finished in second place with a toss of 13.57 meters (44-06.25), while Shameka Dial placed fifth with a throw of 12.95 meters (42-06.00). Sophomores Lindi Berry (11th place, 11.45 meters (37-06.75)) and Hargis (12th place, 11.24 meters, 36-10.50)) also placed for the Racers.
In the discus throw, Dial placed fourth out of 22 competitors with a throw of 39.93 meters (131-00), while Robinson's 39.11 meter (128-04) toss finished right behind Dial in fifth place. Schroeder placed sixth with a toss of 39.10 meters (128-03), and Berry (13th place, 34.73 meters (113-11)) and Hargis (16th place, 30.51 meters (100-01)) also competed for the Racers.
Murray State Head Coach Dereck Chavis couldn't have envisioned a better way for his team to begin the 2008 outdoor season.
"I am pleased with the way our team performed today," Chavis said. "We had several solid perfomances and many of the athletes made great progress in their individual events. To come away from an SEC meet with four wins, one regional qualfier and two school records is not a bad day for us and a great way to start the outdoor season."
The Racers resume action on April 4-5, when they will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for the Gatorade Classic.
