University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Bulldogs Shine on Opening Day of Weems Baskin Invitational
03.24.2017 | Track and Field
THE MEET
2017 Weems Baskin Invitational
Location: Sheila and Morris Cregger Track / Columbia, S.C.
Dates:Â March 24-25
COLUMBIA, S.C.—The UNC Asheville men's and women's track and field team concluded day one of the Weems Baskin Invitational at the Sheila and Morris Cregger Track Friday afternoon at what was the inaugural opening of the new Gamecock facility.
Desire Brown ran the fifth-best time in school history when she placed eighth overall in the women's 400 meter open with a time of 58.33. Freshman Mariza Brooks came in 26th in the competition, running a time of 1:04.63. Lauren Etheridge (33rd) and Aaliyah Belk (34th) followed, running times of 1:05.72 and 1:06.02, respectively.
On the men's side, Matthew Harding set the second-best mark in school history when he finished in seventh place with a time of 49.74. Sophomore Hunter Koike placed 11th with a time of 50.62 in the event.
Freshman Jasmine Cox had a top-20 finish in the women's 100 meter open with a time of 12.69.
Asheville's "A" Team of Chilton Birdwhistell, Matthew Barrera, David Hager and Blanton Gillespie had a top-5 finish in the men's 4x800 posting a time of 7:58.51.
Argia Gibson jumped 5.29 to place 17th in the women's long jump for the Bulldogs.
BULLDOG BITES
ABOUT THE TRACK: Today marked the start of a new era in Columbia, as the Gamecocks hosted the first ever meet at the newest addition to South Carolina's athletic facilities, one of the fastest surfaces in all of global track and field, the world-class Morris and Sheila Cregger Track.
Â
TEAMS COMPETING: Thirty two schools have registered for the meet this weekend including: Appalachian State, Asheville, Ashland, Alabama State, Allen, Anderson, Charleston Southern, Claflin, Coastal Carolina, Coker, College of Charleston, Columbia College, Columbia International, Coppin State, East Tennessee State, Illinois, Marian, Monroe, Morgan State, Morris, North Greenville, Paine, St. Andrew's, St. Augustine's, Savannah State, South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, The Citadel, UNC Greensboro, VMI and Virginia Tech.
PRESEASON PICKS: The Big South Conference released its 2017 Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Polls on Thursday, March 23. The Asheville men's team was picked to finish seventh while the women's squad was picked to finish eighth.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE AWARDS: Two Bulldogs picked up big awards at the conclusion of the Big South Indoor Championship with Matthew Harding tying for league Freshman of the Year accolades and Hunter Koike being tabbed as the men's track and field Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Â
UP NEXT: Following this weekend's competition, the Bulldog men and women will head to High Point, N.C., to compete in the Vertklasse Meeting. The meet will be hosted by High Point University on March 31-April 1.
QUOTABLES
"Excited about where we started at today. We were able to get some things rolling, hopefully the rest of the team feeds off everyone's performance and continues doing well." - Head Coach Jesse Norman
Â
2017 Weems Baskin Invitational
Location: Sheila and Morris Cregger Track / Columbia, S.C.
Dates:Â March 24-25
COLUMBIA, S.C.—The UNC Asheville men's and women's track and field team concluded day one of the Weems Baskin Invitational at the Sheila and Morris Cregger Track Friday afternoon at what was the inaugural opening of the new Gamecock facility.
Desire Brown ran the fifth-best time in school history when she placed eighth overall in the women's 400 meter open with a time of 58.33. Freshman Mariza Brooks came in 26th in the competition, running a time of 1:04.63. Lauren Etheridge (33rd) and Aaliyah Belk (34th) followed, running times of 1:05.72 and 1:06.02, respectively.
On the men's side, Matthew Harding set the second-best mark in school history when he finished in seventh place with a time of 49.74. Sophomore Hunter Koike placed 11th with a time of 50.62 in the event.
Freshman Jasmine Cox had a top-20 finish in the women's 100 meter open with a time of 12.69.
Asheville's "A" Team of Chilton Birdwhistell, Matthew Barrera, David Hager and Blanton Gillespie had a top-5 finish in the men's 4x800 posting a time of 7:58.51.
Argia Gibson jumped 5.29 to place 17th in the women's long jump for the Bulldogs.
BULLDOG BITES
ABOUT THE TRACK: Today marked the start of a new era in Columbia, as the Gamecocks hosted the first ever meet at the newest addition to South Carolina's athletic facilities, one of the fastest surfaces in all of global track and field, the world-class Morris and Sheila Cregger Track.
Â
TEAMS COMPETING: Thirty two schools have registered for the meet this weekend including: Appalachian State, Asheville, Ashland, Alabama State, Allen, Anderson, Charleston Southern, Claflin, Coastal Carolina, Coker, College of Charleston, Columbia College, Columbia International, Coppin State, East Tennessee State, Illinois, Marian, Monroe, Morgan State, Morris, North Greenville, Paine, St. Andrew's, St. Augustine's, Savannah State, South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, The Citadel, UNC Greensboro, VMI and Virginia Tech.
PRESEASON PICKS: The Big South Conference released its 2017 Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Polls on Thursday, March 23. The Asheville men's team was picked to finish seventh while the women's squad was picked to finish eighth.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE AWARDS: Two Bulldogs picked up big awards at the conclusion of the Big South Indoor Championship with Matthew Harding tying for league Freshman of the Year accolades and Hunter Koike being tabbed as the men's track and field Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Â
UP NEXT: Following this weekend's competition, the Bulldog men and women will head to High Point, N.C., to compete in the Vertklasse Meeting. The meet will be hosted by High Point University on March 31-April 1.
QUOTABLES
"Excited about where we started at today. We were able to get some things rolling, hopefully the rest of the team feeds off everyone's performance and continues doing well." - Head Coach Jesse Norman
Â
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and FieldThursday, June 18
Wednesday, March 18
Wednesday, March 11
Friday, February 06