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Jan. 26, 2008
Gainesville, Fla. - The men and women of Bethune-Cookman University Track & Field had a rare in-state showing on Saturday as they took part in the annual Tom Jones Memorial Invitational at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The event took place in the Stephen O'Connell Center. Second-year head coach Garfield Ellenwood has certainly assembled some great talent throughout the off-season at Bethune-Cookman University, and the results have been positive throughout the first two meets this season. On Saturday, however, the results would be a little different--and so would the competition. The Wildcats, for the first time all year, would face some of the best in the southeast, as well as the nation. Five (5) Wildcats performers ranked in the Top 10 of any event on Saturday, but they all were special as B-CU had a second-place showing on the men's side of things. In the men's events, it was junior transfer Joel Redhead collecting a second place showing in the 400 meter dash with a time of 47.86 seconds. For Redhead, it was a personal-best for him in that event. First place honors went to Reuben McCoy of Auburn with a time of 47.35--a provisional qualification for the NCAA Division I Championships. "I think we are starting to peak right at the right time for the MEAC Championships," stated B-CU head coach Garfield Ellenwood. "I'm happy with how we, as a team, performed against some good competition today." Freshman sprinter/jumper Rahdel Savage earned a ninth place showing in the long jump with a distance of 7.06m (23-02.00). On the women's side of things, junior transfer Rockel Mitchell continues to blow away the competition as she collected yet another persona;-best performance in the long jump with a provisional qualification distance of 6.15m (20-02.25). She becomes the first female Wildcat performer to earn a provisional qualification during the indoor season in over four years.
"Rockel continues to work hard, and her personal best mark today shows that," exclaimed Ellenwood. "The team is buying into what the coaching staff is trying to teach them, and the results speak for themselves. If they continue to listen, then I think we are truly going to shock a lot of people at the MEAC Championships." Junior transfer Dianne Munroe also had a personal-best mark in the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.03 seconds to allow her to finish seventh overall for the event. Munroe, another in a long line of junior college national champions from a year ago at Essex County College in New York, has continued to strive towards her goals of becoming an indoor champion in each meet this year. The Vryheid's Lust, E.C.D., Guayana native has been a true up-and-comer for the Wildcats since her arrival in the fall. Redshirt freshman Christina Roundtree collected back-to-back Top 10 finishes in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.83 seconds to finish ninth. The state of Texas has truly been great thus far for B-CU with Roundtree on the women's side, and up-and-coming freshman Eric Cray on the men's side of things. "As I said before, I'm happy with how we competed today against some great competition," continued Ellenwood. "We are doing the right things at the right time to become successful in the near future. I'm happy with what we are building here at Bethune-Cookman University, and I think the future is simply the old cliché of `the sky's the limit' if we continue to mature and grow as a team." The next chance for the Wildcats to show what they have towards the future Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor Championships is when they display their skills at the UNC Chapel Hill Invitational on Feb. 1 in Chapel Hill, N.C. This will mark the second time this season B-CU will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. for an indoor event. |
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