TEMPE, Ariz. - A very long day in Arizona from the Tulane track and field program culminated in some worthy performances - most notably from sophomore Justyn Shackleford, freshman Tamika Brazzel and the three female pole vaulters - at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Saturday.
Shackleford ran a season best in the 400 meter hurdles, posting a time of 54.26. The mark is just shade under four tenths of a second from his personal best that he set during his freshman campaign. On top of his individual performance today, the Suwanee, Ga., teamed with Xavier Rush, Devon Breaux and Jon Frano to run a season best time of 42.05. The quartet placed third in the event on the day.
Shackleford's individual time in the 400 meter hurdles gives him the sixth best time in Conference USA this season.
"I think Justyn stepped forward with his performance today compared to previous marks when he was just coming off spring football practice," said Tulane director of track and field Eric Peterson. "The 4 x 100 team improved. These are the two areas that we made progress in. It was nice to see these two events get stronger for us."
On the women's side, Peterson was pleased with the performances from his three top pole vaulters: sophomore Merritt Van Meter, juniorJoanna Lapucha and sophomore Jessica Knierim. Van Meter competed in the premiere portion of the event, and notched a jump of 4.11 meters (13' 5.75"). While that mark is a new school record, it more importantly put her at the top of the Conference USA pole vault list, besting Rice's McKenzie Johnson. On top of that, her jump today puts her in the top five in the east region, and in the top 15 in the nation - very important marks for the sophomore's bid to compete for a national title in the event. Lapucha and Knierim both cleared 3.75 meters (12' 3.5") in the collegiate portion of the event. The mark is a new season high for Lapucha.
Merritt had another good performance, and I thought Joanna and Jessica vaulted very well this morning after a short turnaround after competing in the Mesa Classic last night," said Peterson. "They finished late in the evening last night. It is never easy to pole vault on back-to-back days, and they came back today with very strong performances. It shows that they are developing some consistency that we will all be able to rely on."
Freshman Tamika Brazzel had another good day at the track, as she leapt 5.90 meters (19' 4.25") in the premiere long jump section on the day.
"This was, obviously, a big-time competition for Tamika," said Peterson. "The winning jump was over 22 feet, and she is the national leader. Tamika is also developing some consistency and improving."
"Overall, I think the team got better in certain areas, but we also realize that we have a lot to work on," added Peterson. "We are now going to turn our focus onto some local meets in the next couple of weeks."
Today's performances at the Sun Angel Classic came on the heels of Tulane's performances at the Mesa Classic on Friday. While there, Brazzel set the new meet record - as well as a new personal best - in the long jump with a leap of 5.96 meters (19' 6.75"). Her jump was good enough for first place in the event, and her teammate Cruz placed second with a new personal best of 5.67 meters (18' 7.25"). Brazzel's jump moves her from ninth place in the Tulane record books in the event to fifth.
Lozes set a new personal best in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by posting a time of 9:51.31. Freshman Adam Yohanan just beat his personal best in the 800 meter run when he finished seventh on the day by finishing in a time of 1:56.61. On the women's side, Jessica Adamson finished third in the 800 meter run, notching a time of 2:17.12. Freshman Kayla Quincy ran a 56.16 in the 400 meter dash, a collegiate best for her.
"We competed in the Mesa Classic to promote everyone's continuing development," added Peterson. "We've talked about how important it is to see consistency in our performances, and we are starting to see that."
Next Saturday, the track and field squad will head two states over to compete in the South Alabama Invitational, held in Mobile, Ala.
You can follow the Tulane track and field programs on Twitter (@GreenWaveXCTF) or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TulaneXCTF.
TULANE ENTRIES FOR SUN ANGEL CLASSIC
Women's 200m Dash Premiere
13. Lilla McMillan, 24.74
Women's 400m Dash
16. Michelle Kretuzberg, 58.42
17. Jerica Banks, 58.47
--Kayla Quincy, FS
Women's 800m Run
14. Jessica Adamson, 2:17.36
Women's 400m Hurdles
14. Tiffanie Smith, 1:04.62
Women's High Jump
8. Melanie Mainor, 1.57m (5' 1.75")
Women's Pole Vault
4. Joanna Lapucha, 3.75m (12' 3.5")
6. Jessica Knierim, 3.75m (12' 3.5")
Women's Pole Vault Premium
7. Merritt Van Meter, 4.11m (13' 5.75") *
Women's Long Jump Premiere
6. Tamika Brazzel, 5.90m (19' 4.25")
Women's Triple Jump
3. Estefany Cruz, 12.36m (40' 6.75")
5. Briana Santiago, 12.03m (39' 5.75")
Men
Men's 100m Dash
20. Xavier Rush, 11.07
Men's 200m Dash
14. Xavier Rush, 22.00
Men's 400m Dash
7. Jon Frano, 48.84
9. John Mouton, 49.30
Men's 800m Run
18. Adam Yohanan, 1:55.42
23. Jack White, 1:57.34
Men's 400m Hurdles
7. Justyn Shackleford, 54.26
Men's 4 x 100m Relay
3. Tulane A (Rush,Breaux,Shackleford,Frano), 42.05
Men's High Jump
13. Max Yanker, 1.95m (6' 4.75")
Men's Long Jump
5. Devon Breaux, 6.93m (22' 9")
Men's Discus Throw Premiere
9. Thomas Lynch, 48.20m (158' 2")
TULANE RESULTS FROM MESA CLASSIC (4/5/13)
Women
Women's 100m Dash
Lilla McMillan, 12.37
Women's 200m Dash
Lilla McMillan, 24.62
Jerica Banks, 25.93
Women's 400m Dash
Kayla Quincy, 56.16
Michelle Kretuzberg, 58.49
Women's 800m Run
Jessica Adamson, 2:17.12
Women's 400m Hurdles
Tiffanie Smith, 1:06.10
Women's Pole Vault
Joanna Lapucha, 3.77m (12' 4.5")
Jessica Knierim, 3.67m (12' 0.5")
Women's Long Jump
Tamika Brazzel, 5.96m (19' 6.75")
Estefany Cruz, 5.67m (18' 7.25")
Men
Men's 100m Dash
Xavier Rush, 11.19
Men's 200m Dash
John Mouton, 22.44
Xavier Rush, 22.55
Jon Frano, 22.63
Men's 400m Dash
Jonathan Heil, 51.89
Men's 800m Run
Adam Yohanan, 1:56.61
Men's 1,500m Run
Jack White, 4:03.77
Men's 400m Hurdles
Justyn Shackleford, 55.01
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
Brian Lozes, 9:51.31
Men's Long Jump
Devon Breaux, ND
Men's Discus Throw
Thomas Lynch, 51.37m (168' 6")