May 10, 2003
ATLANTA – Amandi Rhett had an outstanding day for Georgia Tech’s women Saturday in three events at the Orange & Purple Classic at the Rock Norman Track at Clemson, S.C.
Rhett, a junior from Willingboro, N.J., bettered her season-best time and NCAA regional qualifying mark while finishing second in the 100-meter dash in 11.38 seconds. She also turned in a fourth-place performance in the 200 (23.92 seconds) and was part of Tech’s 4×100 relay team which placed second (44.87 seconds).
Other top women’s performances Saturday included a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter high hurdles 13.63 seconds by Dana Rogers (East Point, Ga.), who bettered her previous NCAA regional qualifying mark and season best time. Megan Byrd, a sophomore from Fayetteville, Ga., finished fourth in the high jump (1.60 meters). Simone Parker, a freshman from Lithonia, Ga., was fifth in the discus (46.58 meters).
Brian Fraser (triple jump), Zeb Sion (shot put) and Ian Brewer (hammer throw) each posted runner-up performances Saturday for the men, while Tech’s 4×400 relay team posted the Yellow Jackets’ only win of the day at the Orange & Purple Classic at Clemson’s Rock Norman Track.
Fraser, a senior from Scotch Plains, N.J., jumped 15.63 meters in the triple jump, one-hundreth of a meter shy of first-place Antonio Saunders of Georgia. Sion, a sophomore from Pocatello, Idaho, made 16.55 meters in the shot put, and Brewer, a sophomore from Saunderstown, R.I., threw the hammer 61.70 meters. All three have previously qualified for the NCAA regionals, but Fraser bettered his season best throw by .15 meters.
Tech posted eight top-five individual finishes overall Saturday. Seniors Bryan Swarn and Sharif Azim finished No. 3 and 4 in the men’s 400 meters, Swarn improving his season-best time and NCAA regional qualifying mark with a time of 46.44 seconds. Azim also set a season-best and posted an NCAA regional qualifying time of 47.26 seconds.
Junior Michael Massey was third in the high jump with an NCAA regional qualifying jump of 2.07 meters. Freshman Rob Kuhn placed fourth in the 1500 meters (3:56.30), and junior Barton Crist placed fifth in the 800 meters (1:54.44). Tech’s 4×400 relay team (Azim, Brian Ford, Swarn, Matthew Trester), which has already qualified for the NCAA regional, ran 3:11.60.
The Orange & Purple Classic concludes Sunday with the final events in the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon. Tech sophomore Greg McCormick is second in the decathlon after five events.