Dec. 4, 2011
CLEMSON, S.C. – Headed by first place finishes by newcomer Rick Scheff and veteran Aaron Unterberger, the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field team competed at the Orange and Purple Winter Classic, Saturday.
Scheff notched his first place finish in the 1,000m run in his first time out on the track as a Yellow Jacket. The transfer from Missouri finished with a time of 2:36.46 to lead the pack. While Unterberger took home yet another first place finish, this time with a 4.90m jump.
Alongside Scheff in the 1,000m were Adonis Gaines who took home fourth and 2:38.41 while Brandon Lasater earned an eighth place finish with a time of 2:41.89.
The men’s distance runners kept their success going into the one mile run where Jeremy Wegener, Justin Weaver and Scott Greer went 4-5-6 in the race with times of 4:34.28, 4:34.70, and 4:37.13 respectively.
The sprint and hurdle group also saw some success on the day. On the men’s side, both Perron Jones and Michael Sims earned a spot in the 60m finals where they finished in third place (6.88) and 15th place (7.11) respectively.
In the 60m hurdles, Melanie Akwule earned a spot in the finals where she finished in sixth place with a time of 8.85 seconds. Freshman Glenn Powell also earned a spot in the finals where he took home ninth place with a time of 8.28 seconds.
In the field events, Erica Penk finished in second place, first among college participants, with a launch of 3.80m. Incomer Samantha Becker finished in fifth place with a leap of 3.65 meters. Julienne McKee kept her success from 2011 in the long jump going when she finished third with a leap of 5.58m. Jasmine Bush finished 14th in the same event with a leap of 4.73m.
Brandon Mbaba took home second in the men’s high jump with a height of 2.00 meters.
The Jackets will take a break for finals and will return to action in the New Year when they head to Lexington, Ky. for the Kentucky Invitational.
