CHARLOTTE, N.C. - College of Charleston women's track & field competed in the Johnson C. Smith University Invitational on Saturday as one last test before the Southern Conference Championships. CofC went head to head against athletes from 12 other schools, including Southern Conference member Georgia Southern.
Five members of Charleston's squad participated in the 800-meter run. Sophomore Kristen Wolfe (Midlothian, Va./James River) recorded the fastest time of any Cougar this season, crossing the finish line in 2:18.57 for fourth place. Senior Emily Nagle (Annapolis, Md./Richmond) finished four spots behind Wolfe with a time of 2:21.37, her fastest time at College of Charleston.
Sophomore Callen Powers (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) also recorded a personal record in the 800 meters, placing 10th with a time of 2:22.28. Sophomore Grace Loba (Orean, Va./Fauquier) and redshirt-freshman Tierney Willard (Midlothian, Va./NC State) rounded out the field for CofC with 17th and 19th place finishes, respectively.
Loba and Nagle came in seventh and eighth in the 1,500 meters with times of 4:56.88 and 4:58.27. Powers and Willard placed 14th and 15th and junior Kirstin Jenkins (Cheyenne, Wyo./Cheyenne Central) finished 22nd.
Southern Conference Track Athlete of the Month Jelain McArthur continued to perform well in the 100-meter hurdles, coming in fourth with a time of 14.17 seconds. Junior Isabel Boersma (Franklin, Tenn./Ravenwood) ran a season-best time of 15.12 seconds to finish eighth. Junior Mary Zolga (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) ran the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.18 for second-place finish while junior Saskia Kalmeijer (Brussels, Belgium/Pope) recorded a personal-best time of 1:07.39 to place fifth.
Boersma, Zolga, Kalmeijer and McArthur teamed up run a season-best time of 48.92 in the 4x100 meter relay to come in sixth.
On the men's side, senior Tim Faugl (Aiken, S.C./South Aiken) finished his collegiate career on a high note with a new school record in the 800 meters. His time of 1:57.94 placed him 14th and broke his old school record by just over two seconds.
Classmate David Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Academic Magnet) also broke his own school record in his final meet as a Cougar. Thomas shaved 10 full seconds off school record in the 1,500 meters, which he set on the same weekend last year at Furman. His new time of 4:04.00 put him seventh place.
The Cougars claimed the top three spots in the men's 5,000 meters.Junior Trevor Sprague (Dunwoody, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) won the event with a time of 15:25.52 while sophomore Eric Robertson (Dalzell, S.C./Thomas Sumter Academy) finished second in 15:41.08. Coming in third was sophomore David Lamberson (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge), who crossed the finish line 10 seconds behind Robertson.
Freshman Manning Miller (Bluffton, S.C./Bluffton) became the first male to compete in a field event in CofC history when he competed in the javelin at the Invitational. Miller launched the javelin a distance of 66'0" to finish ninth.
College of Charleston takes the next two weeks to prepare for the Southern Conference Championships on Apr. 24-25 in Boone, N.C.
