MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina Chanticleer track and field team closed out the final day of the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational with 17 top-five finishes including sophomore Melissa Jefferson's two event wins on the day.
Women
Jefferson shined in her two event finals, the 100 and 200 meters, on Saturday at Doug Shaw Stadium.
The sophomore picked up first place in the 100 meters with the second-fastest time in school history of 11.41 (1.8). Freshmen Jermaisha Arnold (11.74 (1.8)), Kayla Sweeney (11. 96 (1.8)), and Keniah Wallace (12.08 (1.8)) finished behind Jefferson in second, fourth, sixth place, respectively.
Jefferson closed out the two-day meet in the 200 meters with her second first-place finish with a time of 23.95 (2.2). For the second race in a row, Arnold finished in second place with a time of 24.01 (2.2). Both individual times are top-10 in school history.
Rounding out the 200-meter race were freshmen Amaryah White and Sweeney's in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with times of 24.62 (2.2), 24.79 (2.2).
Sophomore Kadasia Evans earned the top collegiate result during the high jump.
Evans finished in second place behind unattached jumper, Beatrice Puiu 's height of 1.73 meters, with a height of 1.68 meters of her own, the eighth-best mark in school history.
Freshman Shani'a Bellamy also had an outstanding day for the Chanticleer women.
The Columbia, S.C., native earned two second-place finishes on the afternoon. In the 100-meter hurdles and on the lead leg of the 4x400-meter relay team.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Bellamy finished with a time of 14.23 (2.5). Teammates Erin Palmer and Sydney Clemens closed out the race as top-six finishers. Palmer crossed the finish line 14.31 (2.5), good for third place, and Clemens rounded out the CCU finalists in sixth place with a time of 14.62 (2.5).
Bellamy joined Amelia Canetto, Lauren Gordon, and White to earned second place in the 4x400 relay team with a time of 3:35.36.
In the 400-meter dash, Canetto earned herself a sixth-place finish and a time of 1:00.81.
In the triple jump, freshman Kayla Ulmer finished in third place with a distance of 12.05 (4.2) meters, the eighth-best mark in school history. Chanticleer teammate Mycal Bowser finished with her best jump of the day at 10.89 (2.4) meters, good for an eighth-place result in the event.
Alyssa Smith and Gordon earned a pair of top-10 results in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday.
Smith had the Chant's fastest time of 1:07.21, good for a fourth-place result and Gordon finished in eighth-place with a time of 1:13.08.
Sophomore Ashley Rulison picked up two top-15 results in distance races.
Rulison earned eighth-place in the 800 meters with a time of 2.27.02. The Burton, Ohio native rounded out her weekend with 13th place in the mile with a time of 5.35.47.
In throwing events, CCU earned three top-15 places.
Freshman India Wright earned eighth-place with a distance of 12.21 meters in the shot put. Sophomore Nikki Boon picked up a 10th-place finish in the same event with a mark of 11.75 meters.
In the discus, sophomore Kacey Lombard reached a distance of 38.70 meters, good for ninth-place. Wright finished four spots behind in 13th place with a length of 34.49 meters, and Boon rounded out CCU's team with a dance of 34.42 meters, good for 14th place.
Men
In the 110-meter hurdles, sophomore Braydon Bennett and sophomore Jaquon Williams finished first and third, respectively. Bennett achieved a personal-best time of 13.92 (3.5). Williams also eclipsed his previous best and set a new personal-best in the event with a time of 14.58 (3.5).
Williams also turned in a 15th-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 23.24 (4.3).
The 4x100 team of freshman Kaden Turner, DeVonte Harris, senior Ty Floyd, and Bennett picked up a first-place result as they tied for the fourth-fastest time in school history (40.27).
Later on, the freshman Harris captured third place in the 100 meters with a mark of 10.90 (1.5).
Chanticleer 400-meter sprinter Jeremiah Talbert gave CCU its second first-place victory of the day.
The sophomore Talbert closed out the race with a time of 47.69. Fellow Chanticleer Floyd followed in sixth place with a personal best time of 49.24.
Coming off yesterday's win in the long jump, sophomore Dallas Wise capped off his weekend in the high jump, where he placed in third with a height of 2.03 meters.
Junior Ryver Morrow tied for fourth in the pole vault on Saturday as he reached the height of 4.26 meters.
In the discus, sophomore Major Chestnut finished in seventh place on the day with a throw of 44.99 meters.
Graduate student Andrew Southard competed in his 800-meter race of the season and finished in 11th place, crossing the finish line in 2:02.05.
Senior Doug Mullen finished the 3000 meters in ninth-place with a time of 9:39.50.
Sophomore Monroe Thompkins earned a top-15 performance in the mile in a time of 4.42.11, good for 14th overall.
Thrower Stephen Kirkwood competed in his first outdoor event of the season, and the junior finished 15th on the day in the shot put with a distance of 12.09 meters.
Coastal will return to the track next weekend as they travel to the University of South Carolina for the Weems Baskin Invitational, March 26-27.
For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track and Field, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
