March 22, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – – Highlighted by freshman Bailey Wagner’s school-record toss of 48’5.50″ in the shot put, the Yellow Jackets posted five first-place finishes on the final day of competition at the Hurricane Invitational Saturday in Coral Gables, Fla.
In her first taste of outdoor collegiate competition, Wagner destroyed the field in the shot put by nearly six-inches as her 48’5.50″ mark broke the old Tech record of 47’10.50″ set by Dana Hall during the 2002 season. The Lake Villa, Ill. native, wasn’t finished on the day however, as she also took the title in the discuss throw with a mark of 156’5″. Her throw edged out teammate Kimery Hern by exactly one inch as Hern’s 156’4″ distance was good for second-place.
Sophomore Megan Manning placed third in the shot put with a tally of 42’2.75″ which was a personal-best of her own.
Taking at least a share of a title on the day was sophomore Joanna Wright in the pole vault. Wright cleared a height of 12’1.50″, which tied her for first-place with Clemson’s Caroline Kennedy.
The women’s 4×400 meter relay team grabbed the fourth first-place finish on the day for the women, crossing the line in a time of 3:52.30 for the win. The 4×100 meter relay team finished third with a 46.04 time.
Rounding out the list of 10 top-five female finishes in respective events on the day were Leslie Njoku (3rd) with a 1:01.12 in the 400m hurdles, freshman Annie Martin (3rd) with a 4:44.82 in the 1500m run and freshman Jasmine Isley (4th) with a 1:02.63 in the 400m hurdles.
On the men’s side, senior Andy Powlen’s led eight Tech performers with top-five finishes on the day. Powlen’s 162’1″ in the discuss throw was good enough for a first-place finish.
Sophomore Antonio McKay Jr. (400m) and senior E.C. Gibbs (800m) finished first in their respective events among collegiate performers, but McKay’s 48.24 was second and Gibb’s 1:51.64 third among overall performers. Gibbs’ time was a new personal-best for the Cullman, Ala. native.
Sophomore Omar Morrison added his name to that list as his leap of 49’3.50″ in the triple jump was second overall but the best mark for an NCAA athlete in the meet.
DeMario Johnson locked down a third-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a 53.93 race, 1.35 seconds off the winning time.
