Feb. 28, 2009
BLACKSBURG, Va. – – Junior Steve Marcelle’s gold medal in the shot put leads the Georgia Tech men’s track & field team to an eighth-place finish on the final day of competition at the 2009 ACC Indoor Championships in Blacksburg, Va. Freshman Bailey Wagner’s runner-up spot in the women’s shot put helped the Tech women finish seventh Saturday at the Rector Field House.
“We had some great individual performances at the championships, but the loss of Nigel [Orr] and Alphonso [Jordan] was too much to overcome,” head men’s coach Grover Hinsdale said. “I was pleased with the effort from many of our individuals. They had a lot of heart, but in the end we didn’t have all the pieces we needed.”
Marcelle’s record-setting throw came at a distance of 63’5″, defeating the field by over two inches. He set the previous Tech indoor record with a throw of 61’5.75″ at the J.D. Martin Invitational at the beginning of February. This marks the second-year in a row that Marcelle won first-place in the shot put. Senior Andy Powlen added a third-place finish for the second-straight year in the shot put with a mark of 58’9.25″.
Junior Alphonso Jordan, who had the conference’s top-mark in the triple jump heading into the championships, was unable to compete on the final of events due to an injury sustained while finishing second in the 60 meter hurdle prelims Friday. Jordan was also one of the top long jumpers in the conference.
Senior Nigel Orr, battling an injury from the Razorback Invitational in January, was also unable to compete for the Tech men in the triple jump Saturday due to the nagging injury.
Senior Dave Ford finished fourth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.10, while freshman Mykhail Chambers’ career-best 6’10.25″ in the high jump locked up fourth-place for the Urbana, Ill. native in just his first season of collegiate competition.
Also finishing fourth was the men’s 4×400 meter relay team f Antonio McKay Jr., Matt DiDia, Subbu Sivanesan and Hunter Clasen with a time of 3:13.15.
“I think our team performed well, competing with great effort and enthusiasm,” head women’s coach Alan Drosky said. “Along with several outstanding performances, we had a number of personal-bests. With our youth and inexperience, it was great to see them perform at such levels in the conference championships. This team continues to show great potential.”
On the women’s side, Wagner’s 49’10” throw secured second-place, giving the Tech women the points needed to finish seventh. Also posting a strong finish was sophomore Joanna Wright, who tied for second in the pole vault with a clearance of 13’1.50″.
Sophomore Jenae Anderson and junior Tiffany Grant each finished sixth in the 60 meters and the 400 meters, respectively, crossing the line in times of 7.53 and 55.73 in the finals.
Tech will travel to the Alex Wilson Invitational and the Virginia Tech last chance meet next weekend, March 6-7, in South Bend, Ind. and Blacksburg, Va.
