March 16, 2012
ATLANTA – On day one of the Georgia Intercollegiate Invitational, the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams finished with 12 first place finishes, 28 top-three finishes and a school record at the George C. Griffin Track and Field Complex on Tech’s campus.
Seven of the 12 first place finishes came on the track side of things while five were earned in the field events.
Freshman Nikita Kirillov broke another school record, this time in the outdoor pole vault with his launch of 5.27m (17-3.50). Kirillov currently holds both the indoor and outdoor pole vault records in just his first year at Georgia Tech.
Mykhail Chambers also saw success in the high jump with his first place finish of 2.10m (6-10.75), tying his career best height. Brandon Mbaba finished second with a height of 2.05m (6-8.75) in the event.
The Jackets swept the triple jump titles as Jonathan Gardner netted a distance of 14.89m (48-10.25) on the men’s side while Julienne McKee set a personal best mark of 13.05m (42-9.75). Coming in second on the women’s side was Jhenelle McLeod with a distance of 12.41m.
The duo of McKee and McLeod also saw success in the long jump as McKee recorded her second first place finish of the day this time with another personal best distance of 6.15m (20-2.25). McLeod took third with a leap of 5.67m (18-7.25). Also finishing in the top-10 were Jasmine Kent who took eighth with a distance of 5.46m (17-11) and Alex Braxton rounded out the top-10 with a distance of 5.32m (17-5.5).
On the track side of things, Perron Jones and Stephanie Kalu each finished first in the 100m dash, Jones with a time of 10.78 and Kalu with a time of 11.81. Jamilah Middlebrooks came in as the runner up on the women’s side with a time of 12.24 while Kenya Scott placed sixth in 12.59. On the men’s side, Michael Simms finished fourth with a time of 11.04.
In the 200m relay, Tech had five athletes finish in the top-5 as Antonio McKay crossed second among the men with a time of 21.24 followed by Jones in 21.56. Kalu was the highest placing Jacket on the women’s side with a time of24.58. McKee, in her switch over to the track took fourth with a time of 24.65 and Middlebrooks rounded out the top-5 with a time of 24.68.
Cameron Reid scooted around the track for a 1:57.18, first place finish in the 800m run followed by Christian Erdman in third (2:00.50) and Scott Greer in fourth (2:01.37).
Tech also swept the 1,500m Invitational titles with Shawn Roberts taking home the victory for the second-straight year on the men’s side with a time of 3:46.52. On the women’s side, Morgan Jackson notched the first place finish with a time of 4:42.65. In fact, the women went 1-2-3-4 in the race with Maureen McMeekin taking second (4:43.86), Laura Serres finishing third (4:46.76) and Mary Kownack taking fourth (4:48.68). Roberts, Eric Powers (3:47.81) and Alec Clifford (3:48.90) went 1-2-3 on the men’s side.
Melanie Akwule took home 110m hurdle honors destroying the field with a time of 13.58 seconds while Jasmine Isley brought home the 400m hurdles title in a time of 1:00.40.
The day finished with the 5,000 meter run under the lights. Both Katie Townsend and Doug Black finished in second place in the race, Townsend with a time of 17:29.51 and Black with a time of 14:52.58. Seven Jackets finished in the top-10 in the race.
The relay teams will be back in action tomorrow on the final day of the Georgia Intercollegiate Invitational at the George C. Griffin Track and Field Complex.
