Spring Break Open ends with Osprey successes
3/7/2009 6:22:58 PM | Men's Track, Women's Track, Track & Field
New records and strong finishes for the team
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.- The University of North Florida Ospreys had a great showing in the final day of their first home meet, anchored by spectacular performances from Will Pearce, Charisma Anderson and Anne DelBovo.
Anderson was a star on the field, beating her own school record with her third-place 100m dash of 12.24s, taking third in the 200m dash and coming in fourth as part of a 4x400m relay team with Kayla Conrad, Evelyn Moore and SaLydia James.
Pearce had the highest placement of any Osprey, taking second after running neck and neck with another runner until a few hundred feet before the finish line. Pearce suddenly changed his stride and sped forward, pushing his way well into second both in his heat and overall.
Anne DelBovo set a new UNF record for her third place, 11-1 pole vault, a full 5 inches higher than the previous record.
It wasn't just UNF track athletes that found success on the field, but coaches as well. Assistant women's track coach Mike Brown took fifth in the javelin throw, an event he holds several world records in for his age group.
Other athletes also did well, including Laura Ragland and Brooke Baumann's sixth and seventh place finish, respectively, in the 1500m. Johnathan Esteban and Chris Fulcher both did well in their heats, taking 12th and 13th places overall for the 1500m. SaLydia James also took ninth in the 200m.
UNF's other 4x400m team showed an Osprey team that could recover from any setback. Running in third place for the first three and a half laps of their heat, Brooke Baumann was closing in on the second place runner when relay baton collided with her competitors and flew out of her hand. Forced to run back to get the baton, Brooke still finished fifth in her heat and 10th overall.
Assistant coach Julie Stackhouse was pleased with the outcome of the open. “Overall, it was was very successful, proving we can do really well at home,” she said. “It all helped get us towards the greater goal of fine tuning what we need to do for the (Atlantic Sun) Conference championships.”
Stackhouse went on to say the she wished to acknowledge the “support of officials, parents and volunteers who made this possible and helped this all come together.”
