Jan. 14, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three student-athletes penciled their names into the Tulane track and field record books on Saturday (Jan. 14) at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener. Estefany Cruz, Zandria Debowles and Briana Santiago highlighted eight top-ten showings on the oval at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
"I think the real highlight of the meet today came from Estefany and Briana," said Tulane head coach Eric Peterson. "Briana jumped a lifetime best on her first attempt and the neat thing about today's competition was the impact that it had. That big performance early in the event had an impact on Estefany's attitude. It was good to see both of them compete hard today, make the finals and come away with a positive experience."
After redshirting last season and competing on an international level last summer, Cruz etched her name into the Tulane record books on her fifth attempt of the afternoon in the triple jump. The Guatemala City native jumped 12.43 in the prelims and fouled in her first attempt of the finals, but her fifth jump landed 12.45-meters away from the board and entered her name into fifth on Tulane's all-time list. Santiago also set a personal-best in the event and kept her name on the top-ten list. The sophomore had her best jump of the day on her first leap, landing in the sand 11.80-meters from where she started, bettering her 11.59-meter leap from last season.
In the 60-meter hurdles, DeBowles turned in the fourth fastest time in school history when she broke the tape in 9.30-seconds. The senior also cleared 1.60-meters in the high jump, improving her top mark of the season when she jumped 1.53-meters at the Birmingham Ice Breaker.
After a nine month layoff, Kasey Rodgers returned to the oval and nabbed a pair of top ten finishes. The senior ran 7.62-seconds in the prelims of the 60-meter dash - qualifying for the finals - and followed that performance with a 7.68 clip to finish eighth overall. Later in the program, Rodgers covered 200 meters in 25.13 to place ninth in the event.
Three other Green Wave performers collected personal-best showings at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Candice St. Etienne ran 57.34 in the 400 meter, whileJessica Knierim and Joanna Lapucha each cleared 3.40-meters in the pole vault to set personal records. Lapucha has now cleared 3.40-meters in both meets this season.
"Every coach in America, and certainly our staff, sees the fall semester come to an end and we all hope that our kids will really work hard and stay focused during the winter holiday," said Peterson. "And that is usually the mark of a good team, when you have the majority of your athletes work hard and continue to make progress (during that break). When our athletes returned a week ago and we started our preparations for this week, (our coaching staff) were all pleased with the condition that our athletes returned in. It is a nervous time, but it is a good time when they come back and have worked hard. It was almost a seamless move back into training and to competition for us."
The Green Wave will continue their training before traveling to the Cherry & Silver Invitational on Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21.
2012 Crimson Tide Indoor Opener
60 Meter
8. Kasey Rodgers, 7.68 (7.62 in Prelims)
200 Meter
9. Kasey Rodgers, 25.13
12. Jerica Banks, 26.24
400 Meter
11. Jamie Riles, 56.63
15. Candice St. Etienne, 57.34 *
17. Hilary Woods, 58.02
21. Michelle Kreutzberg, 60.01
800 Meter
3. Kelci Lyons, 2:18.80
Mile Run
14. Johanna Gretschel, 5:23.68
60 Meter Hurdles Prelims
23. Zandria Debowles, 9.30
26. Tiffany Kenney, 10.68
4x400m Relay
8. Tulane "A" (St. Etienne, Kreutzberg, DeBowles, Riles), 3:53.59
DNS. Tulane "B"
High Jump
16. Zandria Debowles, 1.60m
NH. Melanie Mainor
Long Jump
15. Raquelle Collins, 5.44m
23. Danna Wasserman, 5.00m
24. Tiffany Kenney, 4.83m
Triple Jump
4. Estefany Cruz, 12.45m
9. Briana Santiago, 11.80m *
Pole Vault
8. Joanna Lapucha, 3.40m *
9. Jessica Knierim, 3.40m *
Shot Put
12. Tiffany Kenney, 10.03m