13 Top-Ten Finishes Highlight Season Opener

Dec 08, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The indoor season started on Thursday (December 8) when the Tulane track and field program traveled to the Birmingham CrossPlex to compete in the Birmingham Ice Breaker Invitational. Six student-athletes grabbed top-five finishes and the Green Wave posted 13 top-ten marks as a team.

"We are happy that everyone made it through the first meet healthy and now we can begin to work on some things and will look to continue to improve this indoor season," said Tulane head coach Eric Peterson. "Jamie Riles opened the season with a sold showing in the 200m. She opened the season at 24.87 and won her heat. This is a good start for her and a noteworthy result. She has been training very well and it isn't surprising that she ran that well, given her talent and how hard she has been working."

Riles boasted the top performance for the Green Wave on the track at the Birmingham CrossPlex, covering the 200-meter distance in 24.87 to win the opening heat of the event. The junior eventually ended up third in field of 35 runners, sitting behind Southern Miss' Tori Bowie (24.44) and UAB's Angel Watson (24.70), who ran in the second and third heats, respectively.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Riles ran the third leg and helped the squad break the tape in 3:58.07 and finish third overall. Riles teamed with Candice St. Etienne, Tiffanie Smith and Michelle Kreutzberg to windup as one of six squads to break the four-minute mark in the season opener.

I thought we had two performances in the field that were really impressive," said Peterson. "Brianna Santiago had a solid showing in the triple jump, with each of her final three attempts clearing 11.30-meters. She started well last season, as well, but she has made some technical improvements and really came out today and showed great consistency. That should me great things for her and also for our team. Joanna Lapucha came through with an indoor lifetime best. She made her first three bars with no misses and her technical improvement to date is incredible. We are looking for great things from moving forward."

The pole vault competition saw sophomore Lapucha and freshman Jessica Knierim each post heights of 3.25-meters or better. After passing the first four heights, Lapucha cleared the next three to claim a new personal best of 3.40-meters and strengthened her hold on the second spot in the career indoor record books. Knierim also passed her first four heights and eventually vaulted 3.25-meters and capped the event with a seventh place overall showing.

After fouling in her first two attempts, Santiago made an adjustment and increased her distance in each of her next two jumps of the triple jump. The sophomore won the opening flight of the competition with a leap of 11.57-meters. That mark was good for a fourth place at the conclusion of the second flight.

Adiyah Crute posted a personal record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.86 and Hilary Woods also improved her career-best time when she broke the tape in 25.81 in the event. Freshman Tiffany Kenney competed in three events and grabbed a seventh place finish in the 800-meter run (2:27.70), was 11th in the high jump (1.48m) and 16th in the long jump (4.92m).

The Green Wave will have a month to train before they compete next at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener. The meet will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex, as well, on January 14, 2012.