CHARLOTTE, N.C. - College of Charleston track and field competed in the Johnson C. Smith University Invitational on Saturday as one last test before the Southern Conference Championships. C of C went head-to-head against athletes from 12 other schools, including Southern Conference member Georgia Southern.
Five members of Charleston’s squad participated in the 800-meter run. Sophomore Kristen Wolfe recorded the fastest time of any Cougar this season, crossing the finish line in 2:18.57 for fourth place. Junior Emily Nagle finished four spots behind Wolfe with a time of 2:21.37, her fastest time at the College of Charleston.
Sophomore Callen Powers also recorded a personal record in the 800-meters, placing 10th with a time of 2:22.28. Sophomore Grace Loba and redshirt-freshman Tierney Willard rounded out the field for C of C with 17th and 19th place finishes, respectively.
Loba and Nagle came in seventh and eighth in the 1,500-meters with times of 4:56.88 and 4:58.27. Powers and Willard placed 14th and 15th and junior Kirstin Jenkins finished 22nd.
Southern Conference Track Athlete of the Month Jelain McArthur continued to perform well in the 100-meter hurdles, coming in fourth with a time of 14.17 seconds. Junior Isabel Boersma ran a season-best time of 15.12 seconds to finish eighth. Junior Mary Zolga ran the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.18 for a second-place finish while junior Saskia Kalmeijer recorded a personal-best time of 1:07.39 to place fifth.
Boersma, Zolga, Kalmeijer and McArthur teamed up run a season-best time of 48.92 in the 4x100 meter relay to come in sixth.
On the men’s side, senior Tim Faugl finished his collegiate career on a high note with a new school record in the 800 meters. His time of 1:57.94 placed him 14th and broke his old record by just over two seconds.
Classmate David Thomas also broke his own school record in his final meet as a Cougar. Thomas shaved 10 full seconds off his school record in the 1,500-meters, which he set on the same weekend last year at Furman. His new time of 4:04.00 put him seventh place.
The Cougars claimed the top three spots in the men’s 5,000-meters. Junior Trevor Sprague won the event with a time of 15:25.52 while sophomore Eric Robertson finished second in 15:41.08. Coming in third was sophomore David Lamberson, who crossed the finish line 10 seconds behind Robertson.
Freshman Manning Miller became the first male to compete in a field event in C of C history when he competed in the javelin at the Invitational. Miller launched the javelin a distance of 66’0” to finish ninth.
The College of Charleston takes the next two weeks to prepare for the Southern Conference Championships on Apr. 24-25 in Boone, N.C.