Feb. 24, 2007
HOUSTON, Texas - Senior Gloria Asumnu set two school records and scored 18 team points and the 4x400 relay team finished third with a new season's best, but the Tulane track and field team finished 10th at the Conference USA indoor track and field championship held this weekend at the Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Houston.
"We've got to get better," head coach Heather Van Norman said after the meet. "Our team knows a lot has to be done, but there were a lot of superlative individual performances."
Chief among those was Asumnu, who started the second day of the event by winning the 60-meter dash. After posting the top time in the preliminary heats on Friday, Asumnu's time of 7.22 seconds was 0.05 seconds ahead of UTEP's Oludamola Osayomi, giving her the individual crown in that event. The time also shattered her own school record in the event of 7.32 seconds, and automatically qualified her for the NCAA National Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
But Asumnu was not done there. The Houston native finished second in the 200-meter dash, posting a provisionally qualifying time and breaking her own school record in that event with a time of 23.72 seconds. For her efforts, Asumnu received the "Performance of the Meet" award, as voted by the conference's track and field coaches.
"You couldn't have asked for better races from Gloria," Van Norman said. "She stuck to her game plan and focused on what we've been working on. It's extremely fun for her now, and I think there's more in her."
Asumnu also was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that came in third place with a time of 3:45.23. The Wave relay team of Shaina Pelham, Kyra Lobbins, Asumnu, and Shanon Beelendorf won their heat by eight seconds and had a 15-meter lead by the end of the race. In addition, the time was a three-second improvement over the previous best the team had earned this season.
 |
"They ran their hearts out," Van Norman said. "They were determined to finish in the top three and they went out and did it."
Beelendorf also contributed individual points for the Wave, finishing sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.45 seconds. Van Norman was pleased with the junior's performance despite a nagging injury.
"Shanon is a warrior," Van Norman said. "She has kept a very optimistic, leadership attitude despite her injury, and just powered her way through it today."
On the first day of the meet, freshman Nicolette Taku highlighted the Wave's participation. Competing in the pentathlon for the first time at the collegiate level, Taku took home ninth with a score of 3,096 points. The performance was just 11 points shy of UCF's Tia Harewood in eighth place, which would have put team points on the board for Tulane.
Nevertheless, Taku's performance was still impressive, as the freshman set personal-best marks in the 60-meter hurdles and shot put, where she topped her previous mark by over a meter. In addition, Taku's performances in the high jump and 800-meter run marked her first collegiate attempts at these events.
"Nicolette's a really hard worker," Van Norman said. "She's very eager to learn, and her performance says a lot about her efforts."
Rice won the meet with 100 points, taking home their first Conference USA indoor track championship. UTEP finished second with 95.5 points, topping host Houston with 91. UAB collected fourth with 87 points, while Memphis finished just behind with 78. Tulsa came in sixth with 54 team points, and SMU and Southern Miss tied for seventh with 37 points each. Just ahead of the Green Wave was UCF, who finished with 27.5 points. East Carolina scored 22 points to take 11th, while Marshall finished with six points.
The Green Wave track team will return to action in the Last Chance Invitational in Ames, Iowa, next weekend as they try to send more runners to compete with Asumnu at the NCAA National Championships March 9 in Fayetteville, Ark.
"The whole team is excited for outdoor season," Van Norman said. "We have some injured people that can score points for us, so we've got to get them healthy."
Here are the results from the Conference USA championship:
PENTATHLON
9. Nicolette Taku, 3096
HIGH JUMP
12. Arielle Minor, 1.54m (5-00.50)
LONG JUMP
19. Christina Tegbe, 5.26m (17-03.25) (Personal Best)
5,000-METER RUN
11. Aubrey Phillips, 18:08.48
16. Cecelia Clarke, 19:08.87 (Personal Best)
800-METER RUN
PRELIMINARIES
23. Whitney Hampton, 2:24.63
60-METER DASH
PRELIMINARIES
1. Gloria Asumnu, 7.33
14. Taneekwa Ross, 7.74 (Personal Best)
15. Shaina Pelham, 7.74
FINALS
1. Gloria Asumnu, 7.22 (School Record) (10 points)
400-METER DASH
PRELIMINARIES
6. Shanon Beelendorf, 57.05
10. Olivia Kizzee, 57.58 (Personal Best)
11. Kyra Lobbins, 57.97 (Personal Best)
FINALS
6. Shanon Beelendorf, 57.45 (3 points)
200-METER DASH
PRELIMINARIES
2. Gloria Asumnu, 24.21
12. Shaina Pelham, 25.33
16. Kyra Lobbins, 25.50
17. Olivia Kizzee, 25.58
26. Taneekwa Ross, 26.44
FINALS
2. Gloria Asumnu, 23.72 (School Record) (8 points)
DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY
10. Tulane (Whitney Hampton - Jasmine Momoh - Vanessa Kienast - Aubrey Phillips), 12:41.41
MILE RUN
27. Lauren Swenson, 6:13.48 (Personal Best)
28. Arianne Larimer, 6:17.87 (Personal Best)
4x400-METER RELAY
3. Tulane (Shaina Pelham - Kyra Lobbins - Gloria Asumnu - Shanon Beelendorf), 3:45.23 (6 points)
TRIPLE JUMP
14. Christina Tegbe, 11.42m (37-05.75)
SHOT PUT
23. Arielle Minor, 8.93m (29-03.75)
24. Kimberly Schexnayder, 8.60m (28-02.75)
For complete results from the Conference USA meet, click here.