Jan. 13, 2018
NASHVILLE – Georgia Tech indoor track and field wrapped up competition at the Commodore Invitational on Saturday, having several impressive performances over the final day of the meet.
“This was a solid meet for the men,” men’s head coach Grover Hinsdale said. “I feel I have a better idea of where we area as a team and what we need to do in the next few weeks as we continue to prepare for the ACC Championships in late February. I saw much better confidence and fight from the guys today. The most impressive performance of our day came from Andreas Ward in the 60m high hurdles. He posted a solid PR in the final. I’m very proud of his approach to both practice and competition.”
“Overall, a good weekend for the women,” women’s head coach Alan Drosky said. “Jeanine Williams was fantastic, her time in the hurdles will rank her among the nation’s best. Raven Stewart had two more outstanding efforts and is ready for an even bigger breakthrough some time soon. Hall and Henderson had strong early season performances. The women in the distance events raced really well and show promise for the weeks ahead.”
The Yellow Jackets return to Nashville, Tenn., next weekend when they compete in the Vanderbilt Invitational. The meet begins on Friday, Jan. 19 and concludes Saturday, Jan. 20.
Women’s Highlights
Three Tech student-athletes topped the prelims for the 60m hurdles. Jeanine Williams led all athletes with an 8.27 first-place time, while Kenya Collins – who ran unattached – came in second with a 8.39 time. Raven Stewart rounded out the top 3 for the Jackets, turning in a time of 8.46. Also finishing in the top 10 was senior Marinice Bauman, who turned in a sixth-place 8.87 outing.
The finals looked no different for Georgia Tech, as Williams took home her second title of 2018 with a first-place time of 8.18. Collins finished second with an 8.35 performance, while Raven Stewart turned in a time of 8.44 for third place.
The 8.18 finish for Williams ranks as the fastest time by any women’s athlete in the ACC so far this season and third-fastest overall in the nation.
In the women’s 1 mile, senior Courtney Naser paced the Jackets with a second-place time of 5:19.45. She was followed closely by freshman Marie Repasy, who finished fourth with 5:23.36 time.
In the 60m dash prelims, Williams broke out to a second-place finish with a time of 7.55 to qualify for finals, where she finished second again, this time with a 7.48 time. Also in prelims, Stewart fell just outside the top 10 with an 11th-place 7.76 time while freshman Pharist O’Neal finished 16th with a 7.81 time.
Men’s Highlights
Georgia Tech took the title in the 4x400m relay in an impressive performance. The Yellow Jackets were able to stretch out a one-second lead over Middle Tennessee to take first place with a time of 3:13.96.
In the 60m hurdles prelims, Wesley Watkins, Jr. turned in a seventh-place finish with a time of 8.27. In the finals, Senior Andreas Ward was the top attached athlete, finishing second overall with a time of 7.95. In the 60m dash prelims, Tyson Spears recorded a 6.78 third-place time to qualify for finals. Wesley Watkins, Jr. also made the top 10 with a 7.10 10 th-place time.
In the 3000m run, Ryan Peck paced Tech with an 8:32.14 time – good enough for fourth place. Andrew Matson finished two spots back with a time of 8:35.91 while Matt McBrien fell just outside the top 10 with a 12 th-place 8:55.58 effort. Meanwhile, senior William Solomon turned in a fifth-place finish in the triple jump, hitting a mark of 13.38 meters.
Finishing 10th and 11th in the 3000-meter run was Corrie Smith and Ellen Flood, respectively. Freshman Smith turned in a time of 10:48.13, edging her teammate, Flood, only slightly as she turned in a 10:49.03 time.
John Lyons paced Tech in the 800m run when he finished in the top 15. Lyons placed 13th overall with a time of 1:56.28. Gabriel Darosa (1:56.28) and freshman Tyler Whorton (1:57.32) finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
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