KFDM COOP Posted January 14, 2008 Report Posted January 14, 2008 Lamar Track Begins Season with Solid Showing at Houston Indoor Opener Clerc Koenck registers NCAA provisional qualifying time in women's 3,000 Jan. 13, 2008 HOUSTON - The Lamar University men's and women's track and field teams opened the 2008 season with a solid performance at the Houston Indoor Opener at the Yeoman Field House at the University of Houston. Senior Clerc Koenck, who won her second consecutive cross country conference championship in October, started the indoor season with an NCAA provision qualifying performance in the women's 3,000 meter run in a time of 9:33.44. Junior Renee Graham also ran well in the 3,000, finishing in third place in a time of 9:56.35. The Lamar men also had a strong performance in the 3,000 meter run, placing six runners in the top 17. Sophomore Francis Kasagule led the way with a first place finish while Samuel Kosgei and Franck Bwambale rounded out the top 10 finishers for LU with seventh and 10th place finishes respectively. Randy Becker and Spencer Prudhome finished in 13th and 16th place respectively, and Jared Rodriguez came in 17th place. The second best individual finish for an LU athlete came from Ewan Simpson who grabbed second place finish in the men's 1 mile run. Simpson was the top finisher that was running attached, clocking a 4:26.33. In the women's 400 meter dash, Brittany Pollard turned in a fourth place finish, turning in a 59.10 performance, while Alex Mayfield and Toni Sylvester finished in 14th and 15th place respectively. Mayfield narrowly edged Sylvester with a 1:01.47 performance, while Sylvester crossed the finish line in 1:01.6. In the men's 800 meter run freshman Austin Malek turned in a 2:05.04 performance which was good for fourth place finish. His broth Aaron Malek also finished in the top 10, grabbing 10th place with a time of 2:07.35. The Lamar men also had two runners finish in the top 10 in the 200 meter dash. Freshman Jerel Massenburge sprinted to a fifth place finish in a time of 23.31 while Stephen Boone crossed the finish line in 23.53 good for eighth place. Boone also qualified for the finals in the men's 60 meter hurdles where he posted a 14th place finish in a time of 8.71. In the men's 100 meter dash Michael Gauthier ran to a seventh place finish in a time of 7.15, after running a 7.08 in the prelims. JaMarkus Tolbert, who qualified for the finals with a time of 7.19, finished in 11th place with a time of 7.28, while Daniel Wheaton narrowly missed the finals with a 7.51 clocking in the prelims. Tolbert also competed in the men's triple jump where he turned in a seventh place finish with a leap of 13.45 meters (44-01.50). In the women's 800 meter run Karesse Leathermon ran to an eighth place finish in a time of 5:23.34. Merci Bungei also ran the 800, finishing in 11th place in a time of 5:46.88. Jessika Johnson and Adrianne Johnson both qualified for the finals in the women's 60 meter hurdles, with Jessika Johnson finishing in 9th place with a 9.08 performance, while Adrianne Johnson finished 12th in 9.25 seconds. Meagan Bibbs and Kim Ballenger also ran the 60 meter hurdles prelims, with Bibbs turning in a time of 9.53, while Ballenger ran a 9.78. In the women's 200 meter dash the Lady Cardinals had five runners compete, as Ashley Smith led the way with a 12th place finish in a time of 26.42. Porsche Williams and Bibbs took 17th and 18th in times of 26.76 and 26.81 respectively. Rounding out the LU finishers in the 200 were Jessika Johnson and Adrianne Johnson who finished in 19th and 23rd in times of 26.84 and 27.04. In the women's 60 meter dash Sahara Abraham turned in a preliminary time of 8.10. In the women's 4x400 meter relay the Lamar "A" team posted an eighth place finish in a time of 4:03.90, while the "B" team finished in 12th place with a time of 4:10.38. The men's "A" team grabbed eighth place in a time of 3:32.03. The Cardinals will be back on the track on Friday when they run at the run at the Leonard Hilton Memorial, back at the at the Yeoman Field House at UH.
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