Woman's track team takes second at AAC Championships


Kristen Oxley

Assistant Editor

April 28, 2006

The Milligan women's track team finished second behind rival King College in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships on April 21 at Cullowhee, N.C.

Sophomore Kortney Goulds captured first place victories in the 800-meter run with a time of 2.21.62 and the 1,500-meter run with 4.50.54. Goulds also ran a leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team, which took a first place time of 4.11.71 and broke the school record. Other members of the 4x400 team were freshmen Kristen Bartlett and Jacklyn Talbert and sophomore Brittany Bales.

Goulds's 800- and 1,500-meter times were not personal records for her, but she was still pleased with her performances and with as the women's team as a whole, she said.

"Going to conference we knew we wouldn't win, but everyone who ran brought all they had," Goulds said.

Talbert gained two AAC second place finishes in the 800-meter run with a time of 2.23.90 and the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4.54.18.

Also finishing well in fourth place in the 800-meter run was sophomore Lindsey Davis with a time of 2.28.62 and freshman Kim Hogan in sixth, clocking a 2.38.06.

Sophomore Erika Fox and freshman Ashley Pearce took personal best times of 5.13.21 and 5.15.68 in the 1,500-meters to finish fifth and sixth.

In the women's 5,000-meter run, senior Marta Zimon ran a 19.10.41, finishing second. Freshman Nicole Moore ran a personal best of 20.33.21, taking fifth place while senior Megan Allen followed in sixth place with a time of 21.09.79.

In addition to the 4x400, Bartlett ran individually in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, finishing fourth among AAC teams in both races. Bales took second in the 400-meter dash with a personal best time of 1.01.19 and fifth in the 200-meter dash. Pearce also ran the 400-meter dash, placing fourth with 1.08.64.

In the men's races, senior Chris Wright completed his season debut in the 5,000-meter run with a second place finish and a time of 15.12.55, a mere half second away from the qualifying time for nationals. Wright said that the qualifying time for this race is four seconds faster than it was last year, so it is harder to qualify.

"It was a solid opener," Wright said of his first 5,000-meter race of the season.

Wright said that the 5,000-meter race is one that he gets faster at each time, so he expects to improve upon this time in order to qualify for nationals at a later date.

Junior Jair Collie took a fourth place finish in the 800-meter run in 2.01.30 and ran a personal best time of 4.10.30 in the 1,500-meter run, placing fifth.

Freshman Will Frye ran the meet's opening event, the 3,000-meter steeple chase, capturing an AAC first-place victory with a time of 10.40.36.

In the field events, freshman Robert Newlin threw a season best of 9.85 meters in the men's shot put, taking third, while sophomore Seth Harkins threw the javelin 30.73 meters for a fifth place finish.

The men's track team pulled off a fourth place finish in the conference. Wright said that the men's team is lacking depth, as they have all season, because they do not have many runners.

"From who we had running, we did a very good job," Wright said.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will be held May 25-27 in Fresno, Calif.