April 25, 2009

Complete Results

Statesboro, Ga. - The Furman men's and women's track and field teams competed in the first day of the 2009 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Eagle Field on the campus of Georgia Southern University. Three Paladins scored points in the opening day of competition.

Senior Alex Plasencia was the top finisher for the Paladins, taking third place in the 10000m run. Plasecia knocked over 30 seconds off his personal-best time, crossing the finish line in 31:42.41 to earn all-conference honors with a top-three finish. Fellow senior Joseph Tenini placed sixth in the 10000m race with his own career-best time of 32:37.06.

Jeff O'Connell also scored points for the Paladins on day one, finishing sixth in the 3000m Steeplechase. The senior ran the event in a personal-best time of 9:39.92. Freshman Lee Gilmer posted the best mark of his career in the preliminaries of the 800m run. Gilmer advanced to the event finals with a time of 1:54.76, good for seventh place among the field.

On the women's side, sophomore Monique Ositelu advanced to the 800m finals with a career-best 2:12.93. Ositelu placed sixth in the prelims. Only one Lady Paladin competed in a final on the first day of competition. Rookie Rebecca Shelton placed 11th in the 3000m Steeplechase with her time of 12:15.33.

The final day of competition at the SoCon Outdoor Championships will begin at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.