By: by Scott Lipsky
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- Kennesaw State sophomore Victoria Jackson and senior Chiquita Hawthorne made a big dent in the Owl record books with their performances on Friday, but it was the combined effort of themselves and their teammates that made a noticeable dent in the competition during the first day of the Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., hosted by East Tennessee State.
At the site of February’s Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Jackson felt right at home on her conference foe’s home turf, breaking the KSU Indoor records in the 60 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash, with times of 7.86 and 25.26, respectively. Both of her records erased the previous marks set by Owl great Shantela Davis.
Hawthorne made herself a part of KSU track and field lore by smashing the Indoor Shot Put record originally held by Jessica Irizarry, her 41’8.5” toss easily clearing Irizarry’s standard of 38’9”.
Hawthorne finished in ninth place overall in the Shot Put, one of five Owls to place in the top-ten in their respective events on Friday, their first day of competition after a seven-week layoff. Senior Jakia Ragland and sophomore Suzzette Van-Lare had the highest finishes of the day, placing fourth and sixth, respectively, in the high jump, with leaps of 5’5.25” and 5’3.25.”
“This was a good start for me, but I know that my results can be a lot better if I continue to work on what I’m working on,” said Ragland, who currently holds the KSU Indoor record in the high jump at 5’8”. “I’ve been mostly focusing on technique during the early stages of the season rather than height. Now that my technique is almost where it needs to be, I can start to increase the heights that I jump.”
Freshman Michelle Quimby finished ninth in the pole vault, clearing 10’10”. Junior Jill Arthur also garnered a top-ten finish on Friday, jumping 39’3.25” for a fourth place performance in the Triple Jump to round out the top-finishers for the Owls.
The final of competition at Niswonger, which includes a field of over 70 collegiate teams, will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, when Erin Sutton represents the Owls in the 5000 Meter Run. The meet can be followed all-day with live scoring at www.cfpitiming.com.
