TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) –Thousands of participants and spectators flocked to Mike Long Track Friday for the first full day of track and field action at the 2011 FSU Relays Friday.
And while the competition was fierce and the competitors talented, FSU’s top-10 men’s and women’s squads both performed well; picking up wins in the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays, the women’s javelin throw and the women’s 100m hurdles.
FSU acheived its first win of the day when senior Stephanie Simpson, freshman Marecia Pemberton, senior Teona Rodgers and junior Danielle Jeffery came in first in the women’s 4x100m relay. The foursome finished the race in a time of 45.62.
In the same event, freshman Amber Cambridge, sophomore Briana Emanuel, junior Latera Davis and freshman Bianca Smith posted a time of 48.50 for a 10th-place finish.
Also picking up an early win Friday was the team of Maurice Mitchell, Paul Madzivere, David Ambler and Ngoni Makusha in the men’s 4x100m relay. They finished the event in 39.63.
The winning ways on the track then continued when Teona Rodgers followed up her dominating USF performance last weekend with a win in the 100m hurdles. In the event, she set a new outdoor personal record with a time of 13.26.
Moments later, Tremaine Grant (14.22) placed second and Justin Byrd (14.61) finished fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Like that race, two Seminoles finished in the top five when the women ran the 400m dash later in the day. Newcomer Elizabeth Ichite earned a third-place finish with a mark of 55.30 – a time that was a shade away from her personal best. Junior Latera Davis then crossed the finish line at 56.24 for a fifth-place position.
While the track performers were picking up victories, the same happened in the afternoon on the field.
In the women’s javelin throw, freshman Chelsea Whalen won the event with a impressive distance of 143-10. The length of her toss was just over seven feet longer than her nearest competitor.
Sophomore Brittany Linder (82-08) finished 13th and freshman Colleen Schwab (82-04) finished 14th in the javelin throw.
Davis then placed third in the women’s long jump with a distance of 18-07. Also placing third was Kamorean Hayes, who did so in the women’s discus with a throw distance of 147-06.
Freshman Phillip Young leapt a length of 22-11.75 in the men’s long jump for a finish of sixth place.
Three Seminoles closed out the day with the men’s 10000m run. Junior Nicholas Maedel came in sixth with a time of 31:24.45 while sophomore Jacob Brooks (31:57.60) was ninth and junior Christopher Rego (32:18.37) was 10th.
In the men’s hammer throw to start the day, freshman Markindy Sineus placed 10th with a distance of 146-06. In the women’s hammer throw, freshman Shanea Rufus tossed 154-05 for a sixth-place slot.
The FSU Relays continue Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and Seminoles.com will have all of the updates from the day’s events.