Atlantic 10 Champions 2X on Saturday

Congratualtions to both the men's and women's Charlotte 49ers indoor track and field teams.

Charlotte Wins Team Titles At 2006 Indoor Track & Field Championships
Atlantic10.org
February 19, 2006

KINGSTON, RI – Senior Cassie Ficken delivered gold medal performances in the mile and 3,000m run while teammate Shareese Woods set a Conference record in the 400m dash in leading Charlotte to its first-ever Conference title on Saturday at the 2006 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at Mackal Field House on the campus of the University of Rhode Island.

On the men’s side, senior Ben McCallum cruised to a Championship-record victory in the 55m dash and finished runner-up in the 200m dash (21.70) as the 49ers amassed 180 points in defeating two-time defending champion Rhode Island, 180-146.

Ficken posted winning times of 4:54.84 in the mile and 9:54.08 in the 3,000m while Woods posted a record-setting time of 55.11 to eclipse the previous A-10 Championship 400m dash record of 55.70, set in 1998 by Kaamilya Davis of Dayton. Woods also captured gold in the 200m dash (24.56) and anchored the winning 4x400m relay (3:51.97) en route to being named the Championship’s Most Outstanding Track Performer.

“The distance events in this Conference are real strong so it is a great testament to Cassie’s ability to win two events in such a short period,” said Charlotte head coach Robert Olesen, who was named the Coach of the Year for both the men’s and the women’s Championships.

“Shareese was a little sick but was able to fight and set a Conference record. We’ll move on in the upcoming weeks and see if these two standouts can earn a berth in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.”

Charlotte finished with 172 total points, the second-highest total in Championship history. La Salle finished second with 92 points, followed by Saint Joseph’s (83), Richmond (79), Rhode Island (75), Fordham (73), Dayton (46), Duquesne (41.5), Massachusetts (38), Temple (31.5) and Xavier (10).

Senior Kelly Pohlman of Dayton garnered Most Outstanding Field Performer honors after winning both the weight throw (55-3/4) and shot put (47-5 1/4) competitions for the second consecutive year. It marked Pohlman’s third gold medal in the shot put, which tied an A-10 record. Richmond freshman Jasmine Major was named the Most Outstanding Rookie after winning the 55m hurdles (8.30) and adding a fourth place showing in the long jump (17-10 3/4) and fifth in the 55m dash (7.20).

A second women’s Championship record was shattered on Saturday as senior Elizabeth Geiger of La Salle seized the 1,000m run in a time of 2:52.79. The previous A-10 mark of 2:53.78 was established in 1999 by Nicole Way of Massachusetts.

McCallum’s winning time of 6.23 in the 55m dash eclipsed the previous A-10 record of 6.30, shared by Andre Davis (2000) of Virginia Tech and Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng (2002) of Massachusetts. Charlotte also posted victories in the men’s 4x400m and 4x800m relays with times of 3:18.60 and 7:51.90, respectively.

“We only had one competitor win an event but I think it’s a testament to our depth across the board. It’s very gratifying to win two A-10 Championships and it really justifies my coaching philosophy of paying homage to the entire sport and balance our resources in all event areas,” said Olesen.

La Salle finished third with 111 points, followed by Saint Joseph’s (87), Massachusetts (83), Fordham (64), Richmond (36), Temple (24) and Xavier (7).

Standout performances on Saturday included Rhode Island junior Ashhad Agyapong winning the 200m (21.63) and 400m (47.89) dashes en route to earning the Most Outstanding Track Performer honor for the second consecutive year. Junior Erik Hoagland of Massachusetts was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer after capturing gold in the long (23-4) and triple jumps (49-3) while Fordham freshman Matt DiBuono earned Most Outstanding Rookie honors for his winning throw of 58-9 ½ in the weight throw.

However, the most remarkable performance of the men’s Championship came from La Salle’s Sean Quigley. The sophomore won the 3,000m run in a time of 8:30.40 despite stopping twice during the opening lap after having the heel of his shoe stepped on. After the second lap Quigley kicked off his shoe, cruised in front of the 19 competitors and seized gold despite running with one shoe.

“I wasn’t even thinking about my foot,” said Quigley. “I just wanted to score points and help my team.”


Women’s First-Team All-Conference
Amy Kremer, UD (high jump); Kristen Bakanowski, UM (pole vault; Kerstin Greene, FOR (triple jump); Andria Smythe, SJU (long jump); Kelly Pohlman, UD (shot put, weight throw); Jasmine Major, UR (55m hurdles); Courtney Patterson, CHA (55m dash); Danielle Schopf, LAS (5,000m); Cassie Ficken, CHA (mile, 3,000m); Shareese Woods, CHA (200m, 400m); Tynisha Gardner, CHA (500m); Thuy Nguyen, SJU (800m); Elizabeth Geiger, LAS (1,000m); Tara Gerlach, Emily Beahan, Ashley Earnest, Amy Ruffolo, DUQ (DMR); Carlitha Sturdivant, Tina Horne, LaJarsha Moses, Shareese Woods, CHA (4x400m); Adriana Boyle, Christa Plummer, Carolyn Lipovsky, Elizabeth Geiger, LAS (4x800m).

Men’s First-Team All-Conference
Ben McCallum, CHA (55m dash); Ashhad Agyapong, URI (200m, 400m); John Butler, LAS (mile); Andrew Thomas, SJU (500m); Matt Petrocci, SJU (800m); Jkon Molz, UR (1,000m); Sean Quigley, LAS (3,000m); Teddy Meyers, SJU (5,000m); Steve Rendall, LAS (55m hurdles); Evan Lima, URI (high jump); Sean Strizzi, URI (pole vault); Erik Hoagland, UM (long jump, triple jump); Ryan McCarthy, URI (shot put); Matt DiBuono, FOR (weight throw); Quincy Smith, Jason Moore, Lloyd LeBlanc, James Bacon, CHA (4x400m); Chase Eckard, Riann Lourens, Jordan Olsen, Russell Slade, CHA (4x800m); Joe Brancaleone, Sean Clark, James Holzwarth, David Alfano, LAS (DMR).

 

49ers Sweep Men's and Women's Team Titles at A-10 Indoor Track Championships
Charlotte wins first-ever women's title with six individual champions
Charlotte49ers.com
February 18, 2006

Kingston, R.I. - The Charlotte 49ers captured six individual championships, including five on the women's side alone, and added three relay titles en route to winning both the men's and women's team titles in their first-ever appearances at the Atlantic 10 Conference Indoor Track Championships, held Saturday afternoon at the University of Rhode Island's Mackal Fieldhouse.
Following the teams' efforts, head coach Robert Olesen was chosen as the Coach of the Year for both men's and women's indoor track. Junior Shareese Woods was the Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer as the highest-scoring female athlete at the meet.

The five women's individual titles nearly matched the school's total won in the previous 13 indoor seasons (six). In all, Charlotte brought home a total of 40 all-conference awards - 20 for the women and 20 for the men.

It was the first-ever conference championship for the Charlotte women's team, who established their previous-high finish last season in Conference USA when they placed second. Charlotte finished with 172 total points, the second-highest total in Championship history, to end a five-year run of team titles by Rhode Island.

La Salle finished second with 92 points, followed by Saint Joseph's (83), Richmond (79), Rhode Island (75), Fordham (73), Dayton (46), Duquesne (41.5), Massachusetts (38), Temple (31.5) and Xavier (10).

For the Charlotte men's program, it was the school's second indoor track team championship. The Niners also took home the 2001 C-USA title. The 49ers amassed 180 points in defeating two-time defending champion Rhode Island, 180-146. La Salle finished third with 111 points, followed by Saint Joseph's (87), Massachusetts (83), Fordham (64), Richmond (36), Temple (24) and Xavier (7).

Junior Shareese Woods was chosen as the Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer after out-scoring all other runners with 22.50 points, including a pair of individual titles in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Woods's 400-meter time of 55.11, while not her season best, was the fastest ever run at an A-10 Championship meet. She also anchored Charlotte's championship-winning 4x400-meter relay team.

Joining Woods with a pair of individual titles was redshirt senior Cassie Ficken, who took home gold medals in both the 1-mile and 3,000-meter runs. It was the second straight indoor season that Ficken has won conference titles in those two events.

"The distance events in this Conference are real strong so it is a great testament to Cassie's ability to win both in such a short period," said Olesen.

"Shareese was a little sick but was able to fight and set a Conference record. We'll move on in the upcoming weeks and see if these two standouts can earn a berth in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships."

Woods and Ficken, who was Conference USA's Athlete of the Year in 2005, give the 49ers back-to-back conference MVP awards.

Junior Courtney Patterson, in her first year with the 49ers after transferring from N.C. State, captured the title in the 55-meter dash for the fifth women's individual championship.

On the men's side, Ben McCallum was the lone individual champion when he took gold in the 55-meter dash. He cruised to a Championship-record victory in the 55m dash and finished runner-up in the 200m dash (21.70). McCallum's winning time of 6.23 in the 55-meter dash eclipsed the previous A-10 record of 6.30, shared by Andre Davis (2000) of Virginia Tech, who is now a wide receiver in the NFL, and Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng (2002) of Massachusetts.

"We only had one competitor win an event but I think it's a testament to our depth across the board. It's very gratifying to win two A-10 Championships and it really justifies my coaching philosophy of paying homage to the entire sport and balance our resources in all event areas," said Olesen.

Joining Woods on the championship women's 4x400-meter relay team were Carlitha Sturdivant, Lajarsha Moses and Tina Horne.

For the men, there were two relay championships. Quincy Smith, Jason Moore, Lloyd LeBlanc and James Bacon took home the men's 4x400-meter relay championship, giving the 49ers a monopoly on that race for 2006.

Chase Eckard, Riaan Lourens, Jordan Olsen and Russell Slade scored another 10 points for the team championship when they won the 4x800-meter relay in their first attempt at the race this season.

Both team championships were won thanks to the teams' quality depth. The men's team, with just one individual champion, boasted six runner-up performances. The women also added six runner-up finishes to their five individual championships.

Jason Moore was second to teammate McCallum in the 55, and also captured all-conference honors in the 200 with a third-place finish.

James Bacon was runner-up in the 400, while Ryan Keziah (55-hurdles), Chase Eckard (800) and Russell Slade (mile) also finished second.

Rounding out the men's all-conference finishers were third-place awardwinners Kevin Ryan (high jump), Montray Gilchrist (long jump), Eli Sunquist (triple jump) and Matt Page (shot put).

In the women's championship, Tsehaye Dagnachew was the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run while Aja Jackson took silver in the 800.

Pat Springs was second in both the 55-meter hurdles and the long jump, while Tempess Stark also boasted a pair of second-place medals in the 55-meter dash and triple jump.

Earning all-conference honors with third-place finishes were Lindsey Clayborn (triple jump), Angel Moore (400-meter dash), Karina Murray (pole vault), Courtney Patterson (200) and Liz Smith (1,000).

In all, 19 women's performers contributed to the team's 172 points. For the men, there were even more - 26 different student-athletes contributed to 180 team points.

 

2006 INDOOR TRACK ALL-ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE PERFORMANCES BY CHARLOTTE
• Carlitha Sturdivant, Lajarsha Moses, Tina Horne, Shareese Woods, 4x400-meter relay - CHAMPIONS
• Quincy Smith, Jason Moore, Lloyd LeBlanc, James Bacon, 4x400-meter relay - CHAMPIONS
• Chase Eckard, Riaan Lourens, Jordan Olsen, Russell Slade, 4x800-meter relay - CHAMPIONS
• Cassie Ficken, 1-mile run - CHAMPION
• Cassie Ficken, 3,000-meter run - CHAMPION
• Ben McCallum, 55-meter dash - CHAMPION
• Courtney Patterson, 55-meter dash - CHAMPION
• Shareese Woods, 200-meter dash - CHAMPION
• Shareese Woods, 400-meter dash - CHAMPION
• James Bacon, 400-meter dash - Runner-Up
• Tsehaye Dagnachew, 5,000-meter run - Runner-Up
• Chase Eckard, 800-meter run - Runner-Up
• Aja Jackson, 800-meter run - Runner-Up
• Ryan Keziah, 55-meter hurdles - Runner-Up
• Ben McCallum, 200-meter dash - Runner-Up
• Jason Moore, 55-meter dash - Runner-Up
• Russell Slade, 1-mile dash - Runner-Up
• Pat Springs, 55-meter hurdles - Runner-Up
• Pat Springs, long jump - Runner-Up
• Tempess Stark, 55-meter dash - Runner-Up
• Tempess Stark, triple jump - Runner-Up
• Lindsey Clayborn, triple jump - Third Place
• Montray Gilchrist, long jump - Third Place
• Angel Moore, 400-meter dash - Third Place
• Jason Moore, 200-meter dash - Third Place
• Karina Murray, pole vault - Third Place
• Matt Page, shot put - Third Place
• Courtney Patterson, 200-meter dash - Third Place
• Kevin Ryan, high jump - Third Place
• Liz Smith, 1,000-meter run - Third Place
• Eli Sunquist, triple jump - Third Place

 

Awesome! Now if we can't just get this basketball thing straightened out!!