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Track and Field competes in Ohio State University Invitational
By Matt Green
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Shorter University men and women’s track and field teams took to the boards for the first time in 2012 as they competed in the Ohio State Invitational hosted by The Ohio State University on Friday.
The Hawks, the defending NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field national champions, and the Lady Hawks, fresh off a program-best third place finish at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championship last spring, sprinkled top performers throughout the invitational’s 32 events.
Shorter went toe-to-toe with NCAA Division I programs Ohio State, Wright State and Ohio University and saw a number of athletes improve their NAIA national rankings in their respective events.
On the men’s side, junior All-American Allen Huntley led the way with his second place finish in the 60 meter dash and third place finish in the 200 meters.
Huntley ran 6.80 in the 60 to nearly clip Ohio State’s Demoye Bogle, who won the event with a time of 6.76. Huntley’s time ranks No. 2 in the NAIA this season and is the second fastest 60 time in Shorter history.
Huntley followed up his 60 performance by running a 22.35 to place third in the 200. The Atlanta native spearheaded a 3-4-5 Shorter finish in the event with junior Nigel Talton and sophomore Bradley Moon placing fourth and fifth with times of 22.80 and 23.28, respectively.
Talton (7.02), Moon (7.05) and sophomore C.J. Scott (7.20) placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively in the 60 meter dash and sophomore Trebor Holmes showed well in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing third in 8.38.
Junior Malik Fair looked strong in the 400 meters, turning in a second place finish in 50.30. Senior Terence Scruggs (51.50) and freshman Cole Rice (51.53) came in third and fourth in the 400.
Holmes and Scott represented Shorter in the long jump. Holmes posted a jump of 23 feet, 8.75 inches to finish second overall. Scott leapt 21 feet, 3.50 inches to place fifth.
Shorter’s 4x400 meter relay team of Dameron, Fair, Rice and Scruggs impressed its NCAA Division I counterparts, finished second in a time of 3:23.31.
Junior Randy Dameron (1:24.06) went sixth in the 600 meters to round out Shorter’s male invitational participants.
On the women’s side, sophomore Ashley Ballard and junior Tamala Daley stole the show.
Ballard, a native of Newnan, is now ranked in the top five in the NAIA in both the 60 meter and 200 meter dashes following two strong outings at Ohio State. She placed seventh in the 60 in a time of 7.79 to headline five Lady Hawks in the event, then finished as runner-up in the 200 in a time of 25.20.
Daley, the national runner-up in the long jump last spring, is now ranked 1-2 in the country again with teammate and defending NAIA long jump national champion Ashlie Stewartson after placing fourth in Columbus with a jump of 18 feet, 11.25 inches. Daley was also Shorter’s second-best finisher in the 60 meter dash, crossing the line behind Ballard in a time of 7.88.
Shorter’s 4x400 meter relay squad of freshman Ayana Walker, senior Mia Jones, Ballard and Stewartson took first place in the event, beating three Ohio State squads and completing its heat in 3:57.95.
In other women’s action, Walker (59.46) placed third in the 400 meters and fellow freshman Kryslynn Davidson (9.48) was ninth in the 60 meter hurdles.
Freshman Daisy Helm placed third in the 600 meters in a time of 1:41.09 as Jones (1:41.57), junior Kennisha Holden (1:41.78) and freshman Sarah Jude (1:44.02) also competed in the event.
Junior Sha’Doris Godwin and senior Tia Moreland went five and six in the 800 meter run, turning in times of 2:28.00 and 2:28.81, respectively. Senior Dominique Woods (36 feet, 3.50 inches) and freshman Zandra Lake (34 feet, 5.50 inches) went five and six in the triple jump.
For complete meet results, click on this link.
