April 20, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Led by individual wins by junior Bryan Swarn in the 400 meters and senior Jennifer Ledbetter in the high jump, the Georgia Tech men and women’s track and field teams wrapped up solid showings at the 2002 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at Virginia’s Hannigan Field. The women placed third with 127 points, while the men placed fifth with 81 points.
Swarn had a busy afternoon, as he placed first in the 400 with a season-best and NCAA provisional mark of 45.68 and also anchored the men’s 4×400-meter relay squad to a title in a time of 3:06.26, also a season-best and provisional time. Joining Swarn on the championship relay were Brian Ford, Sharif Azim and Olivier Deigni.
Ledbetter claimed the Jackets only other win of the day with a first-place finish in the high jump. She cleared a personal-best 5’09.75″ to earn the crown.
Senior Nicole Campbell led the group of other women to earn All-ACC accolades, as she placed second in both the 800 and 1500 meters. Her times of 2:05.32 and 4:19.91 are both NCAA provisional performances. Sophomore Amandi Rhett also doubled up in all-conference honors as she finished second in 200 meters (23.73) and third in the 100 meters (11.63).
Rounding out the women’s All-ACC honorees are senior Alisha McClinton, who clocked a personal-best and NCAA provisional mark of 13.45 in the 100-meter hurdles to place second, and senior Sara Pardue, who was third in the 800 meters in 2:06.30.
For the men, sophomore Brendon Mahoney picked up All-ACC honors in a pair of events, as he finished second in the 800 meters (1:50.30) and third in the 1500 (3:45.46). Senior Joe Stegall also placed fifth in the 1500.
Other strong finishes on the men’s side came from Deigni, who was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best mark of 53.16, Michael Massey, who cleared a season-best 6’10.75″ in the high jump to place fifth, freshman Jonathan Spillman, who was fourth in the shot put with a season-best toss of 55’01.00″, and freshman Ian Brewer, who was fifth in the hammer throw. Senior Aaron Sink was sixth in the 400 hurdles, as was freshman Zeb Sion in the shot put.
For the women, solid performances also came from senior Dana Hall, who was fourth in the shot put with a school-record toss of 47’10.50″, and freshman Megan Byrd, who was fourth in the high jump. Junior Jamie Ostrov cleared the same height as Byrd (5’03.75″) but finished sixth. Both the women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relays placed fourth.
As for the team scoring, North Carolina won the women’s title with 176.50 points, and Florida State took the men’s crown with 201.50 points.
The women’s third-place finish equals their best ever outdoor mark, which came in 1988, while the men’s fifth position improves on their seventh-place finish of a year ago.
The Jackets return to action next weekend, as select members of the teams will travel to the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
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