April 17, 2008
ATLANTA – Freshman Joanna Wright and junior Kimery Hern set new school records to lead host Georgia Tech on the first day of the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the George C. Griffin Track on the Georgia Tech campus.
Wright finished second in the women’s pole vault with an NCAA Regional mark of 12 feet, 9 1/2 inches to break the Yellow Jackets school record set in 2001 by Jodie Nettles. Wright’s mark was over five inches higher than the previous record.
Not to be outdone, Hern surpassed her own school record in the women’s hammer throw with an NCAA Regional mark of 197 feet, 2 inches. Hern finished in third place to earn All-ACC honors at the outdoor meet for the second consecutive season. Junior Alana Clooten placed fifth in the hammer with a mark of 184 feet, 4 inches.
On the men’s side, sophomore Matthew Hickey placed 10th in the 10,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 31:55.72. Junior Andy Powlen finished 13th in the hammer throw with a mark of 138 feet, 4 inches.
At the end of day one, the women’s team is sitting in third place with 18 points. Defending ACC Champion Virginia Tech leads the field with 52 points after day one. The men’s team failed to score on the first day of competition. North Carolina leads all men’s teams with 26 points.
Friday’s action gets underway at 10 a.m. with the conclusion of the Decathlon. Field events will begin at noon with the men’s high jump and men’s shot put and running events will commence at 2 p.m. with the men’s 1500-meter run.
Live results for this weekend’s meet are available at flashresults.com. Fans can also watch a recap of today’s events at ACCSelect.com.
– RamblinWreck.com –
