Jan. 12, 2008

Complete Results

Chapel Hill, N.C. - Bethune-Cookman University men's and women's track and field teams opened their 2008 season a month ago, but the full swing opened up on Saturday as they traveled to the Joe Hilton Tar Heel Invitational in the Eddie Smith Field House at Chapel Hill, N.C. The newest Wildcats performed well in their first taste of collegiate competition.

The Wildcats, having the most celebrated incoming track & field class in school history under second-year head coach Garfield Ellenwood, made their claim at a chance for the first MEAC Indoor title in over a decade as they stepped towards greatness against some of the finest in Division I on Saturday in Chapel Hill.

The men were led by the first place finish of Ronnie Ashe with a personal-best time of 7.93 in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles. That was followed up by a first place finish in the finals with a time of 7.96 seconds.

The men's 4x400 meter relay team collected a time of 3:20.33 as they were anchored by sophomore Corey Wright. The team also consisted of Eric Cray, Harold Rose, Jr. and Joel Redhead. The time was good enough for a third place finish overall behind teams from St. Augustine's and the independent factor of the GW Express.

Rose also finished third in the long jump with a distance of 7.09m (23-03.25), while teammate and freshman Rahdel Savage posted a distance of 14.66m (48-01.25) in the triple jump. Savage is expected to be a future All-America talent while Rose is working towards back-to-back regional qualifications under Coach Ellenwood.

"I am pleased with how the men performed, but at the same time I know we can get better," expressed Ellenwood. "Ronnie [Ashe] and Harold Rose were the driving forces, but we also got a look at some of the new guys preparing for a run towards NCAA Regional as well. I am pleased, like I said, but I know we have work to do before the MEAC Championships next month."

In the women's side of things, the events started off with redshirt freshman transfer Christina Roundtree collecting a top five finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.76 seconds. That was a personal-best mark for the Midland, Tex. Native who transferred to B-CU from Midland Community College.

Later on in the day, sophomore Tavia Burke represented well for the `Cats with a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. Her time of 8.74 seconds was a season-best at B-CU in indoor competition. She had collected a time of 8.86 seconds in the preliminaries and a fifth place showing before coming back strong in the finals.

"The women were strong, as I knew they could be this year, but once again--we can always get better," expresses Coach Ellenwood. "Tavia Burke and Christina Roundtree are proving to be good for us, and I continue to believe that we are going to creep up on some people this year at the MEAC Championships. We just have to continue to perform well."

The upset of the day might have been in the long jump as junior college transfer Rockel Mitchell took home the second first place showing of the day for the Wildcats with a jump of 5.85m (19-02.50) in the long jump. That was a personal-best performance from the junior from St. Andrews, Grenada.

"I'm proud of Rockel for her performance, and I know she will continue to want to work hard towards becoming an All-American," states Ellenwood. "Our assistant coach Chris McCoy has done a good job with our jumpers, and it's showing with the performances we had this weekend, but I say again--there is still work to be done, as always."

Ron Danielle Williams picked up a third place mark in the shot put as she tossed a distance of 11.90m (39-00.50) for the day. The 4x400 meter relay team also finished third behind North Carolina and Western Carolina, respectively. The team for the `Cats consisted of Dianne Munroe, Deandrea Laing, Mitchell and Alfreepha Stubbs. The team collected a time of 3:52.21 overall.

Next on the docket for the Wildcats is the NYU Gotham Cup on Friday, Jan. 18 in New York City. For more information, please call the B-CU Office of Sports Information at (386) 481-2206.