Solid First Meet of 2017 for FSU Women
This weekend the women’s track & field team returned to the track and the field at the WVU Open, hosted by West Virginia University. The team went into the first meet of 2017 with limited practice - only coming back from winter break on Wednesday, January 11th. In spite of having just a few days of practices and still missing a few women, the team performed well across most of the events. “The sprinters all raced and didn’t back down,” Coach Bologa said about Saturday’s performances in the sprints. The women took home 19 top-10 finishes; 12 top-5 finishes; 3 runner-up finishes; 2 event winners; 7 season bests; and 6 PRs.
In the Distance events:
Freshman Sidonie Brown finished 6th in the 800 meters – clocking a time of 2:48.74.
Freshman Sarah McCurry made her track debut in the 5k. She ran a 21:21.46 to take 2nd place overall. Teammate Faith Thackston came in behind McCurry in 3rd place with a time of 21:36.14.
In the Hurdles:
Senior Amy Virostek advanced to the finals in the 60m hurdles after running an 11.54 in the trials. She went on to finish 3rd overall with a season best time of 10.87 in the finals.
In the Jumps:
Sophomore Heather Martin took 2nd place overall in the triple jump. Martin’s longest jump was her 3rd attempt – jumping a season best 8.49m (27’ 10.25”).
In the Sprints:
Kayla Truesdel won the 200m for the 2nd meet in a row. It also marks the 2nd time this season that Truesdel has hit the ECAC standard for the event. Her winning time was 26.37. Truesdel also ran the 500 meters – the first time she has run the event in college. She finished in 3rd (behind 2 WVU runners) with a time of 1:20.66. That time hit the ECAC qualifying standard and was 2 seconds shy of the school record.
Sophomore sprinter, Raynisha Johnson made her season debut in the 60m dash. She ran a PR of 8.98 and finished 13th overall. Later in the day, she ran the 200 meters – finishing in 17th place and running and indoor PR of 31.87.
Kenzi Smith finished in 9th place in both the 60m and 200m dashes. She started the day with an 8.73 in the 60 and finished the day with a time of 29.73 in the 200.
Freshman Michala Garrison made her collegiate track debut in the 500 meters – capturing 8th place with a time of 1:31.79.
In the throws:
Junior thrower, Zoe Harris captured her second win of the season. Her winning throw was 10.50 meters (34’ 5.5”).
Holly Van Wie’s best finish of the day was in the weight throw. Van Wie threw a PR of 10.62m (34’10.25”) to take home 2nd place. She also finished in the top-5 in the shot put, placing 4th with a season best throw of 10.19m (33’5.25”).
Junior Elaine Saxton took 3rd in the weight throw with a PR of 10.38m (34’0.75”). She also took 9th in the shot put with a toss of 8.08m (26’ 6.25”).
Freshman Keirstin Tawney took 8th place in the shot put with a throw of 8.26m (27’ 1.25”). Tawney also took 5th in the weight throw with a PR of 8.39m (27’ 6.5”).
Emily Brecht placed 4th in the weight throw – throwing 8.83m (28’ 11.75”). She came back in the shot put to take 10th place with a PR of 7.71m (25’ 3.5”).
CAC standings:
Heather Martin – 7th in the Triple Jump
Sarah McCurry – 9th in the 5000m
Holly Van Wie – 10th in the Weight Throw
PRs:
Emily Brecht – shot put (7.09m --> 7.71m)
Raynisha Johnson – 60m (9.18 --> 8.98)
Raynisha Johnson – Indoor 200m (34.06 --> 31.86)
Elaine Saxton – weight throw (10.20m --> 10.38m)
Keirstin Tawney – weight throw (8.36m --> 8.39m)
Holly Van Wie – weight throw (9.82m --> 10.62m) Congratulations to all that set PRs after a month of no competitions!
Coach Luy’s Top-10:
Kayla Truesdel – 2nd in 500m (1:20.66)
Michala Garrison – 4th in 500m (1:31.79)
Holly Van Wie – 5th in Weight Throw (10.62m/34’ 10.25”)
Elaine Saxton – 6th in Weight Throw (10.38m/34’ 0.75”)
Sarah McCurry – 8th in 5k (21:21.46)
The team will return to competition next Saturday, January 21st at Susquehanna University. The meet starts at 9:30am with a few field events, while the running doesn’t begin until 10:00am.
