University of North Florida
ASUN Outdoor Championships
UNF women, Pearce finish strong
at Atlantic Sun Championships
5/16/2009 11:13:31 PM | Men's Track, Women's Track
Lady Ospreys conclude meet with third-place finish
The UNF women closed out the two-day meet with 90 points, blowing away its next closest competitor.
“We came into this meet with a goal of finishing third and we didn't just finish third, we finished well ahead of the rest of the teams behind us,” UNF Assistant Coach Julie Stackhouse said. “I'm proud of our performance, we finished strong with a very young group. Every time I turned around one of our athletes was on the podium receiving an award.”
Stackhouse said her team is looking forward to next year's meet when the team will be in the mix for an Atlantic Sun Conference title.
UNF had 16 all-conference performers over the two-day meet, with 12 women earning all-conference nods and four men.
One of those men wearing a medal around his neck was Will Pearce who took the win in the in the 1500m race, finishing in a time of 3:54.53.
The UNF men finished sixth overall.
“Though we didn't field a full team on the men's side, everyone that ran was competitive and made an impact in their event,” UNF Head Coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “Will Pearce is outstanding and may have run the gutsiest race of the night in the 1,500 meters. With the wind today, running from the front the way he did, really shows how strong of an athlete he is.”
Pearce took the lead early in his race and never gave it up, earning the win and an all-conference nod.
Other top performances on the day included the women's 4X100 relay team setting a team record with a time of 46.77. Ann DelBovo, who won the pole vault competition Friday, picked up her second all-conference honor in the 4X100. SaLydia James, Keva Stephens and Charisma Anderson all took home conference honors, helping lead that 4X100 group to a second-place finish.
Laura Ragland finished second in the 1500m, Kayla Conrad finished third in the 800m, Ashton McGuire took home second in the women's javelin, Erin Heasley finished third in the steeplechase and Rachel Stanley was third in the 400m hurdles, setting a new school record. All of those competitors earned all-conference nods for their efforts. Elise Trexler set a new personal best of 5-7 in the high jump to highlight UNF's field events.
On the men's side, Cameron Dickerson finished third in the 800m and Johnathan Esteban was second in the steeplechase, both earning all-conference honors.
UNF will welcome the Atlantic Sun back to Hodges Stadium next year for the 2010 Atlantic Sun Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This year's event was the first conference championship that UNF has hosted.
“We would like to thank all of the volunteers and staff members as well as the A-Sun for helping put this event on,” VanAlstyne said. “We could not do it without them and the support of all the fans that came out to enjoy the meet this weekend.”
