April 21, 2018
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech outdoor track and field continues to hold home-track advantage, battling to a multitude of career times and three first-place performances on the first day of the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday afternoon.
In addition to the gold medals, the Yellow Jackets recorded 19 PRs as well as 23 top-10 finishes overall, while also twice reaching the top-5 of Georgia Tech’s record book.
Tech returns to action tomorrow for the conclusion of its home invitational, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern.
Women’s Highlights
The first event of the day gave Georgia Tech the momentum it would carry through the entire day as Jeanine Williams took gold in the 100m hurdles. Her first-place time of 13.06 is a season-best, keeping her ranked second in the ACC and moving her up to 10th in the NCAA East and 15th in the nation.
Also finishing in the top 10 was Kenya Collins, who placed fourth with a 13.43 PR (eighth in the ACC), and Raven Stewart, who ran a 13.51 PR to finish sixth. Collins’ stellar day didn’t end there, however, as she then went on to win the women’s long jump with a personal-best leap of 5.75 meters.
Grabbing one more gold medal for the Jackets was freshman Nicole Fegans in the 5000m. Fegans ran a 16:26.12 to record the fourth-fastest time in Georgia Tech history – eclipsing Tracey Harrell’s 1994 time of 16:39.7 – as well as rank fourth in the conference and 20th in the NCAA East Region.
Tech wouldn’t be done in the 5K, however, as two more Jackets would go turn in top-10 PRs. Mary Prouty ran a 17:06.88 to finish fourth overall in the race before Liz Galarza placed fifth with a time of 17:08.78.
Then in the 1500m, Amy Ruiz led the Jackets with a third-place time of 4:27.53 before Haley Anderson ran a 4:30.28 PR (seventh) and Hailey Gollnick finished 4:36.65 to finish 10th.
Williams was able to join teammate Collins in grabbing two top-10 finishes on the afternoon, taking third place in the 100m with a personal-best time of 11.56. The Kingston, Jamaica native turned in the top collegiate time at the meet while also recording the fifth-fastest time in Tech history – edging out Ashley Kidd’s 2007 mark of 11.58. Also displaying a personal-record performance was Brianna Hayden, who finished fifth in the race with a time of 11.82.
Rounding out the day for the White and Gold was Rebecca Entrekin in the 3000m steeplechase. Despite falling just outside the top 10, finishing 11th, Entrekin improved her personal record by almost seven seconds with a time of 11:50.64.
Men’s Highlights
Leading Georgia Tech was an impressive team outing by the men in the 5000m. Of the six top-10 finishers, five runners set new personal records on the night.
Matt Munns led the pack with a second-place 14:22.83 PR – a mark good enough for 11 th in the ACC. Behind Munns was Ryan Peck, who turned in a third-place, career-best time of 14:23.75, before Christian Bowles completed the top-half, 1-2-3 for the Jackets with his 14:26.44 PR.
Tanner Shaw led the second half, turning in a fourth-place, personal-best time of 14:31.39 before Andrew Kent finished eighth with a 14:39.86. Rounding out the performance was Matt McBrien, who turned in a personal-best 14:47.19 to finish ninth overall.
Then in the 110m hurdles, Andreas Ward finished fourth with a time of 14.26 – just 0.07 off his personal record – while Wesley Watkins, Jr. kicked hard to an 11th-place 14.67 PR in the race. Tech was also represented well in the long jump, as William Solomon lept to a mark of 6.99m to finish fifth overall.
Alex Grady then raced out to a seventh-place finish in the 1500m, running a 3:54.20 time before Tyson Spears (10.70) and Maurice Simpson (10.72) battled neck-and-neck to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 100m.
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