The Chargers finished the 2010 campaign with some great performances at the final two meets of the season. 

 

At the Orange and Purple Classic hosted by Clemson University, Luke Beck had a breakthrough day in the Pole Vault.  Coming into the meet, Beck had a personal best jump this season of 16' 0.75", which had him ranked 15th nationally.  Beck cleared 16' 2.75" on the first attempt, which was good enough for a school record and a ticket to nationals, but he wasn't done just yet.  The bar moved up to 16' 6.75" and he cleared it on his first attempt.  That clearance has Beck ranked 7th out of the 16 vaulters making the trip to Charlotte, NC for the NCAA Division II Track & Field National Championship.  The Pole Vault will be contested this Saturday, May 29th at 5:45 PM EST.

 

Also at Clemson, Richard Wilson broke his own school record in the 100m with a time of 10.63, which placed him 2nd.  Jaion Rayford ran a time fo 48.71 in the 400m, which tied his school record in the event.  Timothy McCulloch set a personal best time in the 200m with a time of 22.19, placing 9th.  Andrew Cole just missed on his bid for a new school record in the High Jump, but did clear just below his best with a jump of 6' 6.75"   

 

Kimaya Johnson finished her freshman season in the 100m Hurdles with a bang as she dropped her time from 15.16 to 14.66 at Clemson, placing 4th.  Latrice Johnson looked as though she had qualified for nationals in the 100m, as she finished 6th in a season best time of 11.95.  Unfortunately, the wind reading of 4.2 meters per second during her race was above the legal limit for qualifying purposes.

 

At the Georgia Tech Invitational, Rayford took another shot at the 400m and came away with a nice improvement to his school record, finishing in 48.25.  Rayford was just short of the provisional national qualifying time of 48.00.

 

UAH track and field assistant coach Soyini Thompson-Murray was named South Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year. In her seventh year at UAH, she helped guide the squad to the South Region Challenge title. 

 

 

Photo by Jay Medeiros

 

It was a day where fast times were hard to come by due to the very strong winds out of the south.  The wind was howling down the final straightaway towards the finish of all the races.  Despite the challenging weather, it was a great day of competition.

 

The UAH women's track team pulled out the win in a closely contested South Region Track Championship which was hosted by UAH at Milton Frank Stadium. The Lady Chargers scored 174 points, followed by Fort Valley State with 150, and Harding with 149.

 

"It was a total team win, as we scored points in 18 of the 20 events," said UAH head coach David Cain. "I am very proud of how they have overcome many setbacks this season and found a way to win."

 

Morehouse College won the men's competition, leading throughout the meet and winning convincingly with a score of 193. Harding was second with 146 followed by UAH with 136.

 

"Although the men finished third as a team, I am very proud of each one of them, Cain commented. "I know they gave everything they had, and they have nothing to hang their head about.  Morehouse performed great, and they were just too deep this year."

 

There were 13 teams competing for both the men's and women's competitions.

 

The meet's Most Valuable Athlete Award, which goes to the highest scoring individual, was shared by UAH's Jeniffer Cherono and Nadia Araiinejad. Cherono won both the 3000m and 5000m, as well as a third place finish in the 1500m. Araiinejad competed and scored in all four throwing events, plus the High Jump and Pole Vault. Both Cherono and Araiinejad scored 26 points each for the winning Lady Chargers.

 

"Jeniffer and Nadia certainly deserve to share the most valuable award" said Cain. "They both performed great in multiple events, and did not let fatigue keep them from helping the team win."

 

The men's MVA was Turner Coggins of Morehouse who won the men's Shot Put, and was second in the Discus and Hammer throws. He finished the meet with 26 points.

 

For the Chargers, Andrew Cole, Luke Beck, and Will Rodgers were all event winners. Cole broke the school record in the High Jump with a clearance of 6'7". Luke Beck won the Pole Vault with a jump of 14'6", and Rodgers won the 1500m in a sprint to the line in a very tactical race finishing in a time of 4:01.69.

 

Jaion Rayford broke is own school record in the 400m with a time of 48.79, placing third.  The men's 4 x100m relay (Cary Hale, Rayford, Timothy MCulloch, and Richard Wilson) set a new record with a time of 41.49 in a third place finish.

Another big contributor to the Chargers team score was Adam Osburn who scored 15 points out of the Shot Put, Discus, and Hammer throws.  Osburn placed third in the Shot Put with 41'11.50", and set personal bests in the Discus with a mark of 120'10", and in the Hammer with a throw of 112'0". 
"Adam is one of the hardest workers on the team, and he really came through for the team this weekend."
 
There were several others who also had personal best marks. Beck had a big improvement in the Javelin with a throw of 145'5", placing 5th.  Jay Poole ran strong in the 400m Hurdles placing 8th with his best time of 58.15.  
 
In addition to Araiinejad and Cherono, the Lady Chargers cause was helped by Jac Lintzenich who scored 12 points and set personal bests in all four of her events. In the Pole Vault Lintzenich placed 2nd with a clearance of 8'6", 6th in the High Jump with 4'8.25", 8th in the 100m Hurdles in 17.68, and 9th in the Javelin with a mark of 98'8". Rachel Joseph also ran big the team, as she placed 2nd in the 200m in 25.94, and 6th in the 100m for a total of 11 points.
 
Araiinejad on her way to scoring 26 points for the team, she set two personal best marks.  In the Javelin she threw 117'5", placing 2nd, and cleared 7'6" in the Pole Vault, placing 4th.

Baton Rouge, La. - The LSU Alumni Gold Invitational went well for the Charger middle distance group as several runners set personal best times. 

 

Parris Heilman lowered his best time in the 800m down to 1:57.28, placing 6th. Josh Moshier ran his best time in the 1500m placing third in a time of 3:57.28.  Dante Dorsey had a breakthrough performance in the 3000m Steepelchase as he lowered his best time by over 20 seconds. Dorsey finished in 10:06.98 and placed seventh.

 

Haley Hancock ran a great race as she broke 5:00 for the first time in the 1500m. Hancock finished fourth in a time of 4:58.20.  Melanie Ferry dropped her time in the 3000m steeplechase down to 13:26.24 and placed 12th. 

 

In the sprint and field events, Stacia Watts ran her best 400m Hurdles race of the season, finishing in a time of 69.81. Nadia Araiinejad threw over six feet further than her previous best in the Javelin with a mark of 113'6" and Luke Beck also set his best mark in the Javelin with a throw of 139'11".

 

The Chargers now prepare to host the DII South Region Track & Field Championship on May 1st at Milton Frank Stadium.  Both men's and women's teams are the defending champs, as they swept titles in 2009, in Atlanta, GA.

 

"We had some very good performances at LSU, but I was a bit disappointed that we did not have any national qualifying performances," said head track coach David Cain. "Usually when we go to a meet of this caliber we get those kind of performances and it just didn't happen."