April 03, 2021 | Men's Track & Field
Rams perform well at Gotta Run Invite
CENTRAL, S.C. – CIU men's and women's track & field headed to Southern Wesleyan University for the second time this outdoor season on Saturday. The Rams competed in the Gotta Run Invite, which was hosted by SWU and involved teams primarily from the NAIA and NCAA DII. CIU saw success on both the men's and women's sides as they competed at the upstate meet.
Sophomore John Hunter James had his highest vault of the outdoor season as he took home the top spot in the men's pole vault. James has already qualified for NAIA nationals and holds the top mark in the NAIA as he hit a height of 4.96m at Saturday's event. James' teammate Blake Rimmer came in 4th in the pole vault with a time of 4.36m.
On the track, CIU's women represented well as Meghann Miller finished in 8th in the 100m with a time of 12.78 while coming in 10th in the 200m with a time of 26.09. Miller wasn't the only CIU athlete in the 200m as Tiona Walls also competed in the event, finishing 6th, .01 away from the school record at 25.70. On top of her 200m performance, Walls made her mark in the 400m coming in 7th in at 1:00.94. Elsewhere on the track, Daneen Hazelwood qualified for the NCCAA championships in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.39, which was good enough for 4th in the event.
CIU had success in throws as Britney Brown qualified for the NCCAA championships in both the disc and the shot put. Kate Barbee had an excellent day for CIU as she set the school record in the women's javelin with a distance of 23.42m.
Head track and field coach Jud Brooker commented on both his teams, saying, "It was a great meet. Tiona Walls especially stood out as she crushed her first outdoor meet at CIU! SWU puts on a well-run meet, so our kids always love going there."
CIU's next meet will be at hosted by Newberry College at Spartanburg High School on April 10th.
