March 31, 2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Georgia Tech track and field registered 12 career bests and two second-place finishes by Ksenia Novikova and William Solomon on Friday at the Florida Relays. Competition continues Saturday with relays and the men’s pole vault and triple jump.
“We had a solid day one of the Florida Relays,” said men’s track and field head coach Grover Hinsdale. “I am very pleased with the performances of Andreas Ward in the 110m hurdles and Alex Grady in the 3000m steeplechase. These two young men were all in today and I could not be more proud of what they accomplished.”
“The women had a really good day and I was very impressed with how well they competed from top to bottom,” said women’s track and field head coach Alan Drosky. “The hurdles continue to be a strong area for us, both the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, and even today in the 3000m Steeplechase with Hailey Gollnick running an outstanding personal best. Ksenia Novikova had a great day in the pole vault with a new personal best and is poised to go even higher soon. Tomorrow is another opportunity to build more momentum for our team with a number of relay events.”
Competition for the Jackets kicked off late Thursday night with the 5000m. Mitchell Sanders registered a career-best mark of 14:47.81 in the men’s 5000m to highlight Thursday’s action.
William Solomon took second in the long jump with a mark of 7.29m, just shy of his mark of 7.30 from the Yellow Jacket Invitational that ranks first in the ACC. Andreas Ward posted a personal record in the 100m hurdles of 14.28. Avery Bartlett recorded an outdoor track career best in the 800m with a time of 1:48.78. Eamon McCoy and Frank Pittman both registered career-best time in the 1500m of 3:53.54 and 3:53.11, respectively. Senior Alex Grady raced a career best in the 3000m steeplechase of 8:57.83 for a fourth-place finish, first among collegiate competitors.
For the women, Novikova finished second in the pole vault with a career-best mark of 4.10m. This mark ranks first in the ACC this season. Kenya Collins and Raven Stewart posted career-best times in the 100m hurdles with times of 14.46 and 13.70, respectively. Charlotte Stephens notched a career-best time in the 1500m of 4:36.11. Freshman Mary Claire Solomon also registered a career best in the 1500m with a time of 4:42.65. Hailey Gollnick took more than 10 seconds off her 3000m steeplechase time with a time of 10:32.32.
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