May 8, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senior Jerome Miller broke the Tech outdoor high jump record and freshman Mykhail Chambers regionally qualified for the NCAA’s in the same event to lead the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track & field teams on day one of competition at the Seminole Twilight Invitational Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
After a week off from competition, the Jackets wasted no time increasing season- and career-highs at the Mike Long track on the Florida State campus. Miller, who came into the weekend with the fifth-best mark in the nation, cleared the bar at 7’3.25″ for a new Tech record. He now moves into fourth place in the national rankings. The senior from Stafford, Va. had previously set the record at 7’3″ during the 2007 season.
Freshman Mykhail Chambers added to the dramatics with a personal-best height of 6’10.75″, the exact mark needed to regionally qualify for the NCAA’s. The Urbana, Ill. native cleared his previous top mark by 1.25″ and gave Tech its 23rd regional qualifier on the season.
In the men’s discus throw, junior Steve Marcelle placed third with a distance of 184’4″, while junior Alphonso Jordan placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 23’6″. Junior Matt Hickey finished sixth in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 15:39.78.
On the women’s side, freshman Bailey Wagner posted a personal-best mark of her own in the discus. Wagner’s distance of 159’8″ helped her defeat the field by nearly two inches, and her previous best mark of156’5″ by over three inches.
In the women’s high jump, freshmen Terri Ann Grant and Bianca Stewart took first and second, respectively, with identical clearances of 5’7″. Also reaching the 5’7″ mark was Tiffany Chavis, but Grant placed higher due to misses and makes at a lower height. Chavis placed fourth because of a jump-off between herself, Stewart and Suelyn Pillner of Florida A&M.
The Seminole Twilight continues for Georgia Tech Saturday with the triple jump at 12 p.m.
