Clemson, S.C. - The Bulldog track and field teams logged yet another impressive weekend of results while competing at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12 hosted by Clemson University.
On day one, the Cadets set the tone with another pair of broken program records. Sophomore Brunson Miller again ran his way into The Citadel record books as he topped the programs top-10 list in the 300m dash. Miller surpassed Charles Watson's mark of 35.17 set during the 2000 season, when he ran a time of 34.88 for a second place finish. Sophomore Daniel Till and freshman Blane Woodfin also competed in the 300m dash and each set personal-best marks placing 10th and 15th. Till ran a time of 36.01 making him fourth all-time, while Woodfin became eighth all-time with his time of 36.54, respectively.
The combination of Micah Wessinger and Danielle McKee established a new school record in the women's 500m this weekend. Wessinger took sole possession of first place on the top-10 list by virtue of a time of 1:19.67. Meanwhile, McKee is a close second with her 1:21.52 mark that landed her seventh place among all runners. Junior Erinn Carter barely missed the school record of 1:23.24 when she ran a time of 1:23.45 for 11th place.
Also climbing into the women's record books, freshman Christina Shonbeck earned the No. 2 spot on The Citadel's all-time list in the 1,000m when she ran a career-best time of 3:12.63, while Andriana Love became fifth all-time in the high jump when she jumped a mark of 4'11.00".
For the men, senior Christopher Castagno and sophomore Kyle Keene each finished their respective events in fifth place. Castagno threw a mark of 54' 8" in the 35lb. weight throw, while Keene posted a time of 15:25.31 in the 5,000m. Senior James Harris earned a sixth place finish in the high jump with his mark of 6'06.75". Sophomore John Gatewood and freshman Edward Jones also finished among the top-10 finishers. Gatewood's ninth place finish with a time of 1:07.76 was a personal-best run and earned him the No. 5 all-time position among The Citadel's prolific runners in the 500m, while Jones also collected his best mark of 22'0.75" in the long jump to finish in 10th.
Junior Christian Graham and freshman Chris Sievert each ran personal best times in the 60m dash and the 60m hurdles, respectively, to qualify for the semifinals of their events. Becoming fourth all-time at The Citadel, Graham sprinted a time of 6.95 during the preliminaries earning the last spot of qualifiers to advance to the semifinals. He fell short of the top-16 runners to advance to the finals when he posted a time 7.00. Sievert became third all-time and qualified for the semifinals when he ran a career-best time of 8.57, but he too missed the finals when his time of 8.65 was not enough to advance.
On Saturday the Bulldogs used the momentum established on the first day of competition and along the way collected impressive marks. The men's 4X400m relay team (Brunson Miller, Blane Woodfin, Chris Sievert and Christian Graham) earned the highest finish of the day as they came in fifth place with a season-best time of 3:20.84.
Sophomore Atom Young recorded a 12th place finish in the 3,000m run when he ran a personal-best time of 8:55.60, moving him to 10th all-time among The Citadel's top runners in the event. Gatewood just missed his personal-best mark in the 800m when he posted a time of 1:57.93 to finish 19th among over 50 participants.
For the women, the 4X400m relay team (Micah Wessinger, Erinn Carter, Andriana Love and Danielle McKee) climbed to second place in The Citadel record books when they ran a time of 4:07. 62. The distance medley relay team, consisting of McKee, Carter, Wessinger and Christina Shonbeck is now sixth all-time after posting a time of 12:59.92.
Junior Francesca McCrary and freshman Vanessa Hope became fifth and sixth all-time respectfully on the Bulldogs top-10 list of runners in the 400m when they ran times of 1:04.48 and 1:04.81. Redshirt senior Natalie Wolin and senior Suzanne Gay both competed in the 3,000m. Wolin ran a season-best time of 10:55.34, while Gay crossed the line next with a personal-best time of 10:58.31 to become fourth all-time.
In field events, Love competed in the shot put and finished in eighth place with a mark of 37'11.5" to become the fourth thrower all-time in The Citadel history.
The Bulldogs will compete in their final meet of the indoor season prior to the Southern Conference Championship when they travel to Columbia, S.C. for the Gamecock Invitational on Feb. 19. For more information on Bulldog Track and Field, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
