University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
East Tennessee State
Bulldogs Compete at Niswonger Invitational; Pearson Takes 3rd in 60 Meters
02.01.2009 | Track and Field
JOHNSON CITY, TN. ? The UNC Asheville men's and women's Indoor Track and Field teams competed this past weekend at the Niswonger Invitational at East Tennessee State. The Bulldogs posted some impressive results in one of the top indoor meets in the country.
“Overall, I was very pleased with how we performed this weekend at the Niswonger meet,” said UNC Asheville coach Jesse Norman. “We really showed improvement across the board, and I believe we're making some strides for the second half of the season and conference tournament at the end of February.”
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was sprinter Natalie Pearson. She competed in the 60 meters against a very difficult field and finished third with a time of 7.65.
Freshman Michelle Busse came in 16th in the 800 with a time of 2:28. Freshman Emma Bussard battled hard in the 3000 and took an 11th place finish with a time of 10:40.
Senior Morgan Weeks continued her solid season and placed 16th in the long jump with a leap of 4.63 meters.
On the men's side, Sam Maynard finished 18th in the mile at a time of 4:32. He was joined by fellow freshman Kent Rankin (4:38) and senior Andrew Burnette (4:45).
Adam Matthews placed 24th in the 3000 with a time of 9:07. In the shot put, Daniel Corriher placed 24th with a toss of 13.31 meters.
Norman was also pleased with how his relay teams competed. The men's 4x400 relay team posted a time of 3:26, while the distance medley team had a time of 11:28. The women's 4x400 posted a time of 4:08. The distance medley women's team had a time of 12:35.
“I really like the way our relay teams performed,” said Norman. “We competed against some very good teams and held our own against some of them.”
UNC Asheville is off next weekend and will compete next at North Carolina on Feb. 13.
