Chelsea Carrier
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
January 08, 2011 05:43 PM
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After the holiday break, the West Virginia University track and field team returned to post an excellent showing today at the Penn State Relays in University Park, Pa., with several top finishes.
“Today was a great rust-buster for our team,” coach Sean Cleary says. “This was a great test for the girls at an away venue and we had some great performances. It is clear that we have a lot more work to do, but for now, we leave this meet pleased.”
Senior Chelsea Carrier led the team with two first-place finishes. The Buckhannon, W.Va., native started the afternoon taking first in the long jump with a BIG EAST qualifying distance of 5.56 meters, while junior Meghan Mock followed in second also clearing 5.56 meters.
Later in the afternoon, Carrier finished first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.33. Sophomore Chené Townsend also had a good race with a sixth-place finish in the finals (9.01). In the preliminaries, Townsend captured first in her heat with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 8.84.
In the relay events, West Virginia’s mile relay team of Jordan Hamric, Aubrey Moskal, Hallie Portner and Sarah Martinelli placed first with a time of 21:11.07, while the distance medley relay team of Kaylyn Christopher, Jordann Mitchell, Stephanie Caruso and Moskal placed second (12:08.48).
In other field events, freshman Sydney Cummings captured first in the high jump (1.67 meters), while junior Terina Miller also posted a BIG EAST qualifying performance with a fourth-place finish in the 20-pound weight throw (15.26 meters).
Freshman Katlyn Shelar then led WVU with a second-place showing (3.35 meters) in the pole vault, and sophomore Lindsey Kopenhaver finished fifth after clearing 3.20 meters.
The Mountaineers will continue action on Jan. 15, with a trip to the Doug Raymond Invitational hosted by Kent State in Kent, Ohio.