Track performs well at Florida invite

The Jackets' men's and women's indoor track teams reached the midpoint of their seasons, leaving only four weeks before the ACC Championships.

The Jackets traveled down to Florida to take part in the Diet Pepsi Invitational at the Stephen O'Connell Center on the University of Florida campus. Eight other teams competed in the men's side while eleven others competed in the women's competition.

David Herren, Steve Marcelle, Charles Rohling, Tom Guglielmo and Cristan Duvall, brought confidence to the team as they finished with their best marks of the season.

Marcelle had a 57 feet and 7 inches toss in men's shot put. Charles Rohling also set a personal mark with his 54 feet and 2 inches throw in the same event. Alphonso Jordan, the reigning Tech male Athlete of the Week and promising freshman, continued his success by placing third in the long jump event with a jump of 23 feet and 2 ½ inches. His score tied with senior James Lemons.

The pair scored the highest jump in the event of all NCAA athletes in the competition. Jordan also made it to the finals in his first attempt at the 55 meter hurdles.

Over on the track side, Herren showed conspicuous improvement in his mile time with a time of 4:13.11.

"Track isn't a sport, it's a lifestyle. Unlike high school, in college you have to bring everything you have every time you run," Herren, a senior from Rome, Ga., remarked.

Other top ten finishers in their events included Jerome Miller, Juan Cave, and Andrew Powlin.

The women's team was led by Shantia Moss and Nisha Kurian who both finished in the top five of their respective events. Moss, a junior from Tamarac, Fla., finished fourth in the 200m and she continues to dominate the hurdle races. She followed a win in the 60m Hurdles last week with another first place finish in the 55m Hurdles this past week, clocking in a time of 7.61 seconds.

Having already received a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA championships in the 60m hurdles, her stellar performance in Gainesville provincially qualified her for the NCAA Championships in the 55m hurdles, making her the second female runner this year to obtain such a time in two events. Ashley Kidd was the first to run such times.

Kidd was not with the team and was instead at the Penn State National Invitational in State College, Penn, challenging some of the fastest sprinters in the nation. She finished third and second in the 200m and 400m dash respectively. In both races she improved her season best time and improved her provisional qualifying place.

Kidd was also named ACC Track and Field Athlete of the Week because of her success at Penn State. At the midpoint of the Indoor Track Season, Kidd appears once again to be the Jackets' strongest candidate for winning an ACC Championship.

The Jackets will spend next weekend in South Bend, Ind. in Notre Dame. competing in the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 2 and 3.