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 Antoinette Cobb won both the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles for Louisiana Tech |
March 28, 2009
RUSTON--Louisiana Tech's track and field team recorded 19 first place finishes Saturday afternoon at the Jim Mize Invitational Track Meet.
The Jim Mize Invitational is back after a one year hiatus as Tech was installing a brand new track last year and Louisiana Tech head coach Gary Stanley is happy to see the meet back for another year.
"We're very happy to get this meet in," said Stanley. "There were a lot of supporters in the stands and we had a lot of kids compete well. We all wish the weather would have been a little better which affected some of our results, but it was still a successful meet. It is very gratifying to see the number of sponsors and supporters who were involved in this event to honor a Tech legend in Jim Mize."
Louisiana Tech was led on the day by the team's two regional qualifiers in senior Nadia Alexander and sophomore Larry Jones. Alexander finished first in the meet in the shot put improving her regional qualifying mark from last week with a throw of 51 feet. Last week Alexander's regional qualifying throw was measured at 50' 3.50". Alexander also finished first in the discus throw with a throw of 138' 11.50".
At the Dr. Pepper Invitational last week at Baylor Jones had regional qualifying throws of 204' 03" in the javelin and 170' 10" in the discus while winning both events. This week Jones picked up right where he left off winning the javelin for the second straight week with a throw of 191' 3" as well as winning the shot put with a throw of 51' 4.50". Jones also finished second in the discus behind former Tech great Jason Morgan and improved his regional qualifying throw to 174' 3.50".
Louisiana Tech's Antoinette Cobb was a double winner on the afternoon, finishing first in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.37 seconds and the 400m hurdles at 1:03.89.
Quatisha Williams also had two first place finishes for the meet winning the long jump and the triple jump. Williams had a jump of 18' 0.50" in the long jump and a jump of 38' 6" in the triple jump. Tech went one, two in the triple jump and the long jump with Brittney Guy placing second in the triple jump with a jump of 38' 3" and Whitney Smith finishing second in the long jump behind Tech's Williams with a jump of 17' 9".
Chasidee Lewis-Baker also picked up a first place finish for Tech as she won the 100m dash with a time of 11.81 seconds topping former Tech standout, 10-time WAC champion and 2008 U.S. Olympic qualifier competitor Latonia Wilson-Phillips.
Tech's men `s and women's 4X400 relay teams continue to have success as they both placed first. The men's team finished at 3:21.49 and the women at 3:51.66.
2009 indoor WAC freshman of the year, Stacia Hanneman, finished second in the 200 with a time of 24.23 seconds behind former Tech great, 11-time WAC champion and 2008 U.S. Olympic qualifier competitor Nina Gilbert.
Tech's Shante Benion also had a second place finish in the 400 with a time of 57.53 seconds.
Winning the 100m dash on the men's side for Tech was Josh Harvey with a time of 10.75 seconds. Harvey also finished second in the 200 with a time of 22.39 seconds.
In his first run of the season, Tech's Alwayne Green ran away with the 800 winning with a time of 1:56.69 followed by Tech's Ladarrion Outley in second place at 2:01.37.
Senior Kinsey Dinnel continues to have a great 2009 as he placed first in the 1500 with a time of 4:11.07 followed by Tech's Josh Slocum who finished second with a time of 4:19.03.
Tech men also finished one, two in the 3000m run in which Zach Schuler took first with a time of 8:58.34 and Nate Davis crossed the line at 9:08.24 for second place.
Tech dominated the hurdles as sophomore Billy Walker finished second in the 110m hurdles at 14.54 seconds and Wade McGaha took first in the 400m hurdles at 53.81 seconds followed closely by Marcelles Atkinson, also from Tech, with a time of 55.64 seconds.
Jonathan Roque also had a first place finish for the Bulldogs, winnig the high jump with a jump of 6' 3".
Finishing second to Jones in the men's javelin with a throw of 189' 5" was former Cedar Creek standout Justin Martin.
Louisiana Tech track and field returns to action April 2 as they travel to Austin, Texas to compete in the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.