MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Friday was a busy day for the Coastal Carolina men's and women's track & field teams on the first day of the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational at Myrtle Beach High School.
 
On the women's side, Shani'a Bellamy advanced to the finals for both the 100-meter dash (11.61) and 100-meter hurdles (13.84), finishing first in the preliminary races for each event. 
 
Joining Bellamy in the 100-meter dash finals on Saturday will be fellow Chants Kayla Sweeney (11.81), Zahria Jones (11.98), and Mariah McCord (12.08) who placed second, fourth, and sixth overall, respectively, in the prelims.
 
Alyssa Smith's time of 15.18 and eighth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles prelims allowed her to advance to the 100-meter hurdles final as well. 
 
In the field events, Lauralyn Clifford finished sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.85 meters, while Nikki Boon tallied an eighth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.28 meters.
 
Kynnedy Dennis claimed the top spot in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 3.50 meters, while Alyssa Gregory (fifth, 3.35M) and Ashley Dalleske (13th, 3.05M) also finished in the top 15 for the Chants. 
 
Two relay teams – the 4 x 200 meter (1:39:49) and 4 x 800 meter (9:45.27) – advanced to the finals of their events with finishes of second and third, respectively.
 
On the men's side, David Ejumeta found the winner's circle for the second time in as many weeks in the long jump with a mark of 7.23 meters, while Jake Heydon won the men's javelin throw with a toss of 66.74 meters. Aaron Pierce (52.95M) and Aaron Keeler (50.15M) both finished in the top 10 in the javelin, finishing seventh and 10th overall, respectively.
 
On the track, Jerardo Perez claimed the top spot in the one-mile run open with a time of 4:35.11, while Kaden Buchler also notched a top-15 finish (12th, 4:45.40) for CCU.
 
Jack Benoit earned the top spot on the podium in the 800-meters open with his time of 1:57.41, while Garrett Bivens finished second in the 5000-meters event with a time of 14:46.76. 
 
Tyler Graves crossed the finish line in first with a time of 14.10 in the 110-meter hurdles prelims, placing ahead of teammate Jaquon Williams who finished eighth with his time 14.62. Both advanced to the 110-meter hurdle finals.
 
In the 100-meter dash, Garrett Wilkins (10.66) and Reggie Barlow (10.68) finished second and third, respectively, in the prelims to notch spots in the finals on Saturday.
 
Live results for day two of the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational can be found on the Track & Field/Cross Country schedule page at www.GoCCUsports.com.
 
For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track & 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.