Category | Sports

Track and field teams impressive at LSU Alumni Gold, Bulldog Limited

Published on April 21, 2009 by Brian C. Bell

After a strong showing at the Seminole Twilight last weekend, the KSU men’s and women’s track & field teams travelled to Baton Rouge, La. April 17-18 to compete in the LSU Alumni Gold.  The weekend saw a strong performance from both squads that included fifteen top-ten finishes and the fall of several KSU school records.

Jill Arthur jumped her way into the KSU record books. Courtesy of SID.

On the men’s side of things, the stars of the meet were Gianni Catalano and Joshua James. Catalano continued his mid-distance dominance on Saturday with a KSU record-setting time of 1:51.41 in the 800m, enough to garner a fourth place finish.

James showed no slowdown from his performance in Tallahassee last weekend, finishing sixth and setting a new KSU record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.07.

“[Catalano] is really close to hitting the regional mark, as is Josh James. They both ran and competed very well this weekend,” said assistant coach Devin West.

Catalano and James joined fellow runners Daniel Grass and James Verdi in setting a new KSU record time of 3:13.39 in the 4×400m relay, placing seventh overall. Distance runners Travis Holmes and Scott Burley finished second and third respectively in the 3k steeplechase, while Jeremy Easley led all Owls with a tenth place finish in the 100m hurdles.

The KSU women would only add to the accolades for the Owls in Baton Rouge. Jill Arthur made a strong impression in both the triple jump and long jump. Arthur placed second in the triple jump, setting a KSU record distance of 12.13m, and scored a long jump of 5.70m, enough to place fourth.

While Arthur impressed in distance jumping, her teammate Jakia Ragland showed that the Owls can soar high as well with her 1.70m, third place high jump performance that shattered yet another school record.

The women’s 4×400m relay team, consisting of Victoria Jackson, Shantela Davis, Brittany Robinson and Shelby Hines would join their male counterparts in setting a new KSU record, finishing 16th with a time of 3:52.41.

“Both relays ran great. We were really impressed. Everyone turned in a great split,” said West.

Distance runners Mackenzie Howe and Erin Sutton continued the Owls’ impressive performance with finishes of third and fifth place in the 5k.

While the Owls’ runners and jumpers were impressing in Baton Rouge, KSU’s throwers were leaving their mark at the Bulldog Limited in Athens, Ga.

On the men’s side, Casey Strickland and Aymerick Kolokilagi earned third and fourth place finishes in the discus, while Kolokilagi would take fourth in the shotput with a throw of 14.70m. The KSU women met the mark the men set as Jessica Irizarry and Jessica Lumpkin dominated the women’s throwing events. Irizarry took home third place in both the javelin and hammer, while Lumpkin had top-five finishes in the hammer, discus and shot put.

With one event remaining before the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championships, the Owls are showing the kind of consistency needed to make an impression in conference competition.

The record-setting squads will take their talents to Athens, Ga. May 9-10 to compete in the Georgia Invitational, the final event for the Owls before the A-Sun Championships.