Indoor Track & Field Teams Compete In First Day Of SoCon Championship Meet

Feb. 25, 2010

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Junior Monique Ositelu won her heat and placed fifth overall to qualify for tomorrow's 800m finals and lead the Furman indoor track and field teams in the first day of competition at the Southern Conference Championship Meet, being held Thursday and Friday in Clemson, S.C.

After the first day of competition, Appalachian State leads the women's team event, while Furman is in ninth place. Western Carolina leads the men's team competition, and Furman is in eighth place.

Charlee Coggins led the Paladins in the 3000m, winning her heat and placing 12th overall with a time of 10:43.33. Hannah Robinson placed fourth in her heat and 16th overall in the event with a time of 10:49.89, followed by Haley Gray (11:01.38) and Rebecca Shelton (11:17.06).

The Paladins' Distance Medley Relay Team of Emily Wirzba, Starr Belmont, Haley Gray, and Jenna Callahan finished in seventh place, posting a time of 12:09.21, while Stephanie Post placed 18th in the shot put with a mark of 7.76.

In the 400m preliminaries, Misha Holmes recorded a time of 60.40, followed by Megan Slatter at 64.53 and Lena Cole with a time of 67.40. Also in the 800m qualifying heats, Shannon Cantwell logged a time of 2:35.29, while Erin McChristian posted a time of 2:39.34. None advanced to tomorrow's finals.

For the Furman men's team, sophomore Lee Gilmer led the team with a fifth place finish in the 3000m, recording a time of 8:28.18. In the only other final event of the day, freshman Scott Des Marais placed ninth in the shot put with a mark of 13.16 to earn a spot on the shot put all-freshman team. 

Several Paladins competed in preliminaries of their events in the first day of competition. In the 60m dash preliminiaries, Cortez Johnson and Sederrick Cunningham each posted times of 7.10, while Nathan Wade recorded a time of 7.46. Brian Toney recorded a time of 54.45 in his 400m qualifying heat, followed by Raul Rodriquez with a time of 55.94. Wilkerson Given ran a 2:00.91 800m preliminary race to conclude the meet for the Paladins. None advanced to tomorrow's finals.

The final day of competition will begin Friday morning at 9:15 a.m. with the men's heptathlon. Furman's first event, the men's mile final, is slated to begin at 12:50 p.m.