March 20, 2016
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Georgia Tech track & field squad completed competition at the Alabama Relays on Saturday, and several Yellow Jackets finished near the top in their events.
Freshman Bria Matthews began the outdoor season on a positive note, finishing third in the long jump with a mark of 6.01m. Matthews was an ACC Champion and All-American in both the long jump and triple jump during the indoor season.
“It was a solid outdoor opener for the women,” head women’s coach Alan Drosky said. “The weather wasn’t conducive to great performances, but we competed hard. Bria Matthews and Kenya Collins had good openers, and Donjhae Jones had a really good day. Shannon Innis and Marinice Bauman in the 400m hurdles, Ksenia Novikova in the pole vault and Amy Ruiz in the 1500m were all highlights for the team.”
Collins finished fourth in the 100m hurdles with a career-best time of 13.84. Jones finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.88m. In the 400m hurdles Bauman and Innis finished seventh and eighth with times of 1:02:14 and 1:02.35, respectively. Novikova finished fourth in Section B of the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.85, while Amy Ruiz finished 17th in the 1500m with a time of 4:37.05.
On the men’s side, Spencer Allen picked up where he left off after the indoor season, finishing third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.08.
“We had a decent meet in less-than-favorable weather conditions,” head men’s coach Grover Hinsdale said. “I think we let the delays and postponed events get to us a little. We’re going to have to do a better job of manning-up in those situations, because they do come along. However, I was pleased with the 110m HH races of Spencer Allen and Andreas Ward. I thought Myles McDavid had a good series of jumps in the long jump. Lastly, I was pleased with Julian Darden’s season opener in the 400m hurdles. Julian missed a good portion of the indoor season and has not raced a lot prior to this weekend. We’re looking forward to lining up at home next weekend.
Ward finished 12th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.94, while McDavid leaped 7.17m in the long jump to finish fourth. Darden finished 15th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.21.
The Jackets will be in action next weekend at the Yellow Jacket Invite, taking place March 25-26 at the George C. Griffin Track & Field Facility.
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