2013 Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
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Carmen Graves, Roanoke, Senior
April 15, 2013Graves, a senior from Christiansburg, Va., continues to add her name to the top of the ODAC seasonal performance list and the ODAC record book. At the Sea Ray Relays at the University of Tennessee, Graves set a new conference best time in the 800-meter dash in 2:09.3, her first running of the event outdoors this season. That time is 5.03 seconds faster than the next best time in the league, and currently ranks second in the country, just 0.11 seconds short of the top position. Graves also joined teammates Alease Kinney, Jessica Mejia and Alexis Janney in setting a new ODAC record in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:53.21. It eclipsed the previous record of 3:54.65 set by Graves and teammates in 2010. It is also ranked fourth in the country. She currently owns ODAC top times in three individual events (800m, 1,500m, 3,000m steeplechase) and is ranked in the top-10 nationally in all three. -
Zander Tallman, Washington and Lee, Junior
April 15, 2013Tallman, a junior from Grand Blanc, Mich., posted a new ODAC time top in a pair of events at the Johnson C. Smith Invitational. He placed fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.93, which is 1.24 seconds faster than the next ranked runner in the ODAC. That time is also tied for fourth in the country. Tallman also joined teammates Parker Howard, Dillon Myers and Thomas Dunbar in the 4x400-meter dash. Tallman ran the anchor leg to help the team to a third place finish with a new ODAC top time of 3:20.05. That ranks 21st in the country. Tallman also ran the 100-meter dash at the meeting, posting a personal season-best time of 11.27 seconds.
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Carmen Graves, Roanoke, Senior
April 08, 2013Graves, a senior from Christiansburg, Va., competed in both the Duke Invitational and the Liberty College Invitational. The change in venue did not affect Graves’ performances as the multiple All-American set a pair of ODAC top times and broke two ODAC records. At Duke on Friday evening, Graves ran 4:32.80 in the 1,500-meter run to place fifth overall, eclipsing the previous ODAC record set by Washington and Lee’s Elizabeth Webb (4:37.90) in 2008. Graves’ time is fourth in the country. At Liberty on Saturday, Graves won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:59.02, taking over the ODAC’s top spot by more than 30 seconds and the ODAC record time of 11:22.19 established by W&L’s Becca Taylor in 2009. Saturday’s run was only the second time she’s ever competed in the steeplechase. Her time ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season.
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David Cason, Guilford, Junior
April 08, 2013Cason, a junior from Clemmons, N.C., set a new ODAC record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Duke Invitational over the weekend. Cason place sixth in the 29-man field with a time of 9:18.71, eclipsing the time of 9:19.21 set for Nathan Johnson from Washington and Lee in 2005. Cason’s time tops the ODAC seasonal ranks and is currently seventh in NCAA Division III.
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Alexis Janney, Roanoke, Freshman
April 01, 2013Janney, a freshman from Daleville, Va., won a pair of individual events and was part of two winning relays at the Commonwealth Duals hosted by Christopher Newport University. Janney won the 100-meter dash in 12.57 seconds, and then added a win in the 200-meter dash in 25.38 seconds. Her 100 dash time is second on the ODAC seasonal performance list and tied for 26th in NCAA Division III. Her time in the 200 dash ranks #1 in the conference and ninth in the country. Janney ran the anchor leg of the 4x100-meter relay team comprised of Esther Prempeh, Alease Kinney and Brianna Hood. The quartet posted a time of 49.19, the second-best time in the conference behind RC's own ODAC top time of 49.07 set earlier in the season. Janney joined Kinney, Jessica Mejia and Carmen Graves is setting a new ODAC top time in the 4x400-meter relay in 4:00.12, which stands 13th in the country.
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Rachad Davis, Lynchburg, Junior
April 01, 2013Davis, a junior from Virginia Beach, Va., climbed both the ODAC and NCAA Division III performance lists following a strong showing at the Virginia Commonwealth Duals hosted by Lynchburg College. Davis finished second to an unattached runner in the 110-meter hurldes, posted an ODAC top time of 14.98 seconds. That currently stands eighth in the country. Davis came back with a victory in the 400-meter hurdles in 53.89, setting another conference-best time and ranking sixth in the nation. Davis also helped the 4x100-meter relay team to a second place finish in 42.51-seconds.
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Kristen Trice, Bridgewater, Freshman
March 25, 2013Trice, a freshman from Glen Allen, Va., competed in four events at the Doc Jopson Invitational, the first outdoor meet of her collegiate career. She won twice, posting new ODAC top marks along the way. Trice captured the win in the high jump with a mark of 1.53 meters (5' 0.25"), which is tied for 43rd in the country. She added a gold medal in the triple jump with a leap of 11.07 meters (36' 4.0"), ranking 10th in NCAA Division III. Trice added a fourth place finish in the long jump (4.77m; 15' 7.75"), posting a personal season-best distance. She also competed in the 100-meter dash, placing ninth in 14.08 seconds.
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Greg Wilson, Lynchburg, Junior
March 25, 2013Wilson, a junior from Sagamore Beach, Mass., won a pair of throwing events and finished second in a third at the Doc Jopson Invitational hosted by Bridgewater College. Wilson won the shot put competition by over two feet, posting a mark of 14.73 meters (48' 4.0"). He went on to win the hammer throw, setting a new ODAC top distance at 47.48 meters (155' 9.0"). That mark topped the second-best throw by more than 13 feet. Wilson capped his day by missing his third victory by just 10 inches in the discus, as he tossed the apparatus 41.61 meters (136' 6.0").
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Janey Fugate, Washington and Lee, Sophomore
March 18, 2013Fugate, a sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., only ran in one event in her first outdoor appearance at the Dr. Jack Toms open, but it was a big one. Fugate won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.92, posting not only the ODAC's top time of the year, but also topping the NCAA Division III ranks by nearly a second. The time is a new standard at Washington and Lee, snapping the previous mark of 1:03.59, which she set last season.
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Tom Sippie, Lynchburg, Freshman
March 18, 2013Sippie, a freshman from Toms River, N.J., opened his first outdoor campaign with three strong races and his first appearance in the javelin at the Dr. Jack Toms Open. He and teammates Rachad Davis, Curtis Whitlow and Zachary Kezar won the 4x100-meter relay in 43.16 seconds, ranking tops in the ODAC and 12th in NCAA Division III. Sippie went on to place second overall in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.81 seconds. That is #1 in the conference and fifth in the nation so far this season. He added a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash in 49.17, which is second in the conference and seventh in the country. Sippie added a 19th-place showing in the javelin with a mark of 28.90 meters (94' 10.0").
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Dillon Myers, Washington and Lee, Junior
March 11, 2013Myers, a junior from Foxborough, Mass., competed in five events at the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Invitational on Saturday, marking his first competition in almost two months. The meet consisted of mostly Division I and II teams with only a handful of D-III squads. Myers took fifth in the javelin with a personal best throw of 50.39 meters (165' 4"). He also claimed seventh in the long jump with a mark of 6.38 meters (20' 11.25"). In the high jump, Myers finished fourth at 1.83 meters (6' 0"). In the 200-meter dash, Myers placed 17th with a time of 23.26 and came in seventh in the 400-meter dash at 51.06 seconds.
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Amanda Theall, Shenandoah, Sr., Throws
March 04, 2013Theall, a senior from Blossvale, N.Y., competed in all four throwing events with three wins at the Sigler Spring Meet hosted by Salisbury University. Theall won the shot put with a toss of 11.11 meters and did the same in the discus with a heave of 35.11 meters. She set a school record in winning the hammer throw with a spinning release that covered 41.44 meters. She also placed eighth in the javelin as she fired the apparatus 18.11 meters.
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Chad Norton, Guilford, Jr., Mid-Distance
March 04, 2013Norton, a junior from Walled Lake, Mich., won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Powersox Invitational hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne University. Norton posted a time of 9:50.38, marking a personal-best showing in the event and the seventh-best time in Guilford history. He came back to post the top Division III result and placed eighth overall among 43 runners in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.17. Norton competed in two other events as he ran a leg on Guilford's 4x400-meter relay team that placed sixth among 14 teams in 3:41.93. He also ran the 200-meter dash for the first time in his career and placed 32nd in 25.18 seconds.
