Friday, May 3
Tallahassee, Fla.
University of North Florida
at
Seminole Twilight
Photo by: Bill Pearce - wlpearce.com
Track and Field Takes Home Five Golds at Seminole Twilight
5/3/2013 10:59:00 PM | Men's Track, Women's Track
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida track and field team captured a season-high five gold medals on Friday evening at the Seminole Twilight Invitational, hosted by Florida State University.
"This was a good meet for us," Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. "Thankfully, they dodged the weather and we had a lot of kids perform really well today. That's really all you're looking for this close to the conference championships."
Junior David Shepherd grabbed his second individual win of 2013 in the pole vault, grabbing a mark of 4.90m to take the win. Freshman Marcus Blessing and senior Noah Thompson tied for sixth in the event with a height of 4.60m.
The 4x400m relay team brought home the other gold medal for the men's team, as freshman Jamal Pitts, sophomore Jake Menan and seniors Justin Mims and Aaron Tillman clocked a time of 3:17.27, the Ospreys fourth-fastest time of the season.
UNF got a trio of top-ten finishes in the 400m, as Mims (49.81), Tillman (49.95) and sophomore Cecil Rolle (50.03) finished packed up in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
For the women, senior Jennifer Smyth took home gold in the triple jump with a season-best performance, reaching a mark of 11.76 to pace the field. UNF also captured wins in a pair of distance events, as senior Kayla Conrad clocked a 2:13.35 in the 800m, while sophomore Alessandra Valdes ran a 4:33.41 in the 1500m. Sophomore Alyssa Brandt was shortly behind Valdes in second, with a time of 4:34.29, a new personal best.
"I was very happy with how everyone performed," Pigg said. "Coming off of finals these past couple weeks, we were just trying to get the mental outlook back to where it was and I think we did that. We're excited to compete on our home track next week for the conference championships."
The Ospreys will be back in action next weekend, as they play host to the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track Championships on May 10-11. Tickets will be available online or at Hodges Stadium.
"This was a good meet for us," Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. "Thankfully, they dodged the weather and we had a lot of kids perform really well today. That's really all you're looking for this close to the conference championships."
Junior David Shepherd grabbed his second individual win of 2013 in the pole vault, grabbing a mark of 4.90m to take the win. Freshman Marcus Blessing and senior Noah Thompson tied for sixth in the event with a height of 4.60m.
The 4x400m relay team brought home the other gold medal for the men's team, as freshman Jamal Pitts, sophomore Jake Menan and seniors Justin Mims and Aaron Tillman clocked a time of 3:17.27, the Ospreys fourth-fastest time of the season.
UNF got a trio of top-ten finishes in the 400m, as Mims (49.81), Tillman (49.95) and sophomore Cecil Rolle (50.03) finished packed up in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
For the women, senior Jennifer Smyth took home gold in the triple jump with a season-best performance, reaching a mark of 11.76 to pace the field. UNF also captured wins in a pair of distance events, as senior Kayla Conrad clocked a 2:13.35 in the 800m, while sophomore Alessandra Valdes ran a 4:33.41 in the 1500m. Sophomore Alyssa Brandt was shortly behind Valdes in second, with a time of 4:34.29, a new personal best.
"I was very happy with how everyone performed," Pigg said. "Coming off of finals these past couple weeks, we were just trying to get the mental outlook back to where it was and I think we did that. We're excited to compete on our home track next week for the conference championships."
The Ospreys will be back in action next weekend, as they play host to the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track Championships on May 10-11. Tickets will be available online or at Hodges Stadium.
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