ASU sweeps championships

Chris Boyce - Sports Beat

The Appalachian State University track and field team swept the competition out of the 2002 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. over the weekend, claiming both the men’s and women’s titles.

The three-day event began Thursday in the Liberty Bell Track Complex at 11 a.m. and concluded with the men’s 4x400 relay at 3:50 pm.

Three Mountaineers received Most Outstanding awards, including Bob Smith, who won the discus; Ryan Linebarger, who claimed the 110- and 400-meter hurdles; and Ronda White, who took the triple jump and finished second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 100-meter dash.

Appalachian State’s John Weaver received his second Coach of the Year award.

It’s the first time in seven years that the Mountaineers have swept both the men’s and women’s titles during outdoor conference championships. In addition, it is the first time in three years that any team has been able to accomplish the feat, since the Western Carolina University Catamounts won both in 1999.

The Appalachian State men’s team crushed the field of nine, winning by 36 points over the second-place Catamounts.

The women enjoyed a smaller cushion of 14 points, also finishing ahead of Western Carolina.

Freshman sprinter Jennifer Claud won both the 100- and 200-meter races en route to claiming the Outstanding Freshman award.

Also noteworthy, Mountaineer vaulter Suzanne Makinson and Western Carolina’s Dana Anglin broke the conference’s pole vault record with a height of 12 feet, five inches.

As expected, the men’s sprinters enjoyed a successful weekend, with the Mountaineers claiming both the 100 and 200-meter dashes.

Ernest Wiggins added to an already stellar season by winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.69 seconds. Teammate Jason Green finished in second with a mark of 10.77.

Appalachian State’s Reggie Williams took the 200-meter race with a time of 21.50. Green also finished in second with a time of 21.56.

The men’s team won six of the fourteen events held on Saturday.

The first day of competition was highlighted by the performance of distance runner Sarah Primeau, who crushed the competition in the women’s 10,000-meter run.

The junior from Simpsonville, S.C. finished almost an entire one and a half minutes in front of the field, lapping all but one runner in the process.

Primeau finished with a mark of 38:08.78.

On the men’s side, four Mountaineers finished in the top four in the 10,000-meter race, but University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Curtis Gadula prevailed with a time of 32:25.36.

With the end of conference competition, the men finish the season a perfect three for three, winners of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field championships. The women finish winners of two out of three, claiming both the indoor and outdoor track and field titles.

Both teams have sights set on the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Baton Rouge, La., between May 28 and June 1.