2008 Woodie Awards
Track sprints out of blocks in Nashville
Val Kikkert
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports
The indoor track team had an explosive start to its season last Saturday at the Tennessee State Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. The Bulldogs competed against 37 teams and more than 60 unattached athletes, some of whom are professional.
Headlining the success were the men's and women's distance medley relays. Both teams placed first, with their anchor runners solidifying the victories.
For the men's team, redshirt senior Sean Rogers ran 400 meters, sophomore Will Denton ran 800 meters, freshman Scott Cope ran 1200 meters and sophomore Blaise Carie ran 1600 meters.
The women's team included sophomore Ashley Dance running the 400-meter leg, freshman Marissa Brokaw running 800 meters, junior Britney Almaguer running 1200 meters and freshman Hillary Neal anchoring with a 1600-meter run.
Head Coach Glenn McWaters was pleased with each leg of the relay performances. He was also impressed with a few individual performances.
Senior Michael Smith stood out, placing fourth in the 60-meter hurdles event. He finished behind three professional athletes, allowing him to take the trophy home for first place in the collegiate race.
Some freshmen on the team also had stand-out performances. Zac Epperson won the pole vault event, while Mary Barron placed third in the women's pole vault event. Brokaw also stood out in the 800-meter individual race.
McWaters said he was pleased with his team's performance overall, especially considering that this was their first meet. He said other teams competing in the meet had multiple meets under their belt prior to this event.
"We had a really good start on Saturday. However, indoor track is not a big focus for us. We use this season to prepare for outdoor track in the spring," McWaters said.
McWaters said he plans to continue thorough training throughout the season despite having meets on the weekends in an effort to peak for the OVC Outdoor Championships in May.
Redshirt senior All-American Lauren Blankenship trained through the weekend and did not compete Saturday, McWaters said.
Blankenship has one more season of indoor and outdoor eligibility, but she is focusing on preparing for the outdoor season in hopes of gaining All-American recognition for the third time in the 5000-meters.