Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest Open
Deacs Wrap Up Successul Wake Forest Open
3/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
March 24, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
Competition from the last day of the Wake Forest Open at Kentner Stadium was fierce and began on a high note for the Deacon track and field team on Saturday. Freshman Caroline Vaughn had a hand in two new school records, including the 100-meter hurdles, to highlight the day for the Deacs.
A native of Atlanta, Vaughn ran a time of 13.83 in the 100-meter hurdles to break Cassy Richards' previous record of 14.05 set in 2004. The time was good for fourth in the finals of the event and also surpassed the regional standard of 13.92.
Vaughn also ran the opening leg of the 4x100-meter relay team that broke the Wake Forest record in that event. She teamed with juniors Melissa Council and Ashley Spooner and freshman Nicole Castronuova to run a time of 46.46 and break the 2005 Deacon record of 46.92. The time also put the team in third place in the event.
The Deacs had three of the top eight finishers in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Junior Michelle Duffey ran a new personal best time of 1:00.39 en route to a second place showing in the event. Vaughn finished seventh in 1:02.13 while freshman Alexandra Gove came in eighth in 1:02.44.
Competing in the first section of the finals of the 200-meter dash, senior Eric Seely ran a time of 21.32 to finish fourth. On the women's side, Council ran a time of 24.24 to finish seventh. She wrapped up the weekend with top-eight finishes in both the 200m and 400m.
After a sixth place result in the 800-meter run on Friday, sophomore Nicole Schappert followed that up by finishing second in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday. The Del Ray Beach, Fla., native ran a time of 9:50.80. Competing in the same race, fellow sophomore Allison Kieffer ran a time of 9:58.09 to finish sixth.
In the field events, junior Oderah Nwaeze placed seventh in the long jump with a best leap of 23-4 1/2.
Three more facility records fell on Saturday, bringing the total to five on the weekend. Nike's Lela Nelson had a leap of 20-10 3/4 in the long jump to break former North Carolina Tar Heel and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones' 1995 record of 20-10 1/2. Duke's Debra Vento also broke her own Kentner Stadium record in the high jump with a leap of 5-11 1/4 in the event.
The Deacons' 4x400-meter relay record set last year at the ACC Championships also fell by the wayside on Saturday at the hands of GW Express, a team comprised of professionals. Anchored by the 2005 400-meter hurdles world champion Bershawn "Batman" Jackson, it ran a time of 3:06.22 to best Wake's record by over two seconds.
On Saturday, the men's 4x400 team of Seely, sophomore Phillip Warsaw, junior Chris Catton and freshman Jonathan Reid placed fifth in a time of 3:13.70. The women's team of Gove, Duffey, Castronuova and junior Molly Kennedy finished fifth as well in a time of 3:50.06.
Saturday wrapped up another successful weekend of the Wake Forest Open. The competition field comprised of over 50 colleges in addition to several former Olympians and world champions.
The Deacons will split up next weekend with members of the squad heading to both the Stanford and and Yellowjacket Invitationals held in Palo Alto, Calif., and Atlanta, respectively.
NEW FACILITY RECORDS
Men's 4x400-meter relay
New Record -- GW Express, 3:06.22
Old Record -- Wake Forest (Bingham, Idlette, LaRue, Seely), 2006, 3:08.36
Women's Long Jump
New Record -- Lela Nelson, Nike, 20-10 3/4 (6.37m)
Old Record -- Marion Jones, North Carolina, 1995, 20-10 1/2 (6.36m)
Women's High Jump
New Record -- Debra Vento, Duke, 5-11 1/4 (1.81m)
Old Record -- Debra Vento, Duke, 2006, 5-10 3/4 (1.80m)
- WakeForestSports.com -
Players Mentioned
