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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Chipotle Marshall Invitational
UNC Asheville Posts Several Strong Performances on Final Day of Chipotle Marshall Invitational
02.10.2018 | Track and Field
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Several Bulldogs posted strong performances Saturday as the UNC Asheville men's and women's track and field team wrapped up competition at the Chipotle Marshall Invitational.
Highlights
Victor Mathuthu set the tone early for UNC Asheville as the freshman jumper won first place and broke the school record again in the triple jump. His leap of 14.08m breaks the school record, which he set earlier this year at the Keydet Invitational. His leap was also 0.28m farther than the runner-up finisher on Saturday.
Senior sprinter Hunter Koike continued the Bulldog success on Saturday as the St. Augustine, Fla. native placed first in the 60m preliminary round. With his 7.00 time, he bested second place by 0.03 seconds. In the finals of the same event, Koike recorded a season-best 6.98, as he placed third. The time also moves Koike into second place in UNC Asheville program history.
In the prelims of the 60m, sophomore sprinter Tyree McFalling finished ninth with a time of 7.23. He was just one spot away from qualifying for the finals.
Sophomore runner Matthew Harding earned another first-place finish as he out-raced the competition with a 1:49.68. His time was over two seconds faster than the runner-up.
McFalling continued his strong performance on Saturday, as the sophomore placed third in the men's 400m with an indoor personal record of 49.85. Kimani Anderson finished two spots behind his teammate as the junior clocked in at 50.52.
The women had a strong showing in the 4 x 400m relay, as Kayli Nichols, Desire Brown, Jasmine Cox and Heather Grober placed third in the event. The four Bulldogs posted a 3:57.03, as they were under three seconds away from besting second-place Belmont.
Koike continued to post strong finishes on the final day of the meet, as he was runner-up in the men's 200m. The junior clocked in at 21.97, which is a season best for the Florida native. Anderson finished five spots behind his teammate, as he placed seventh with a 22.87.
In the first track event on Saturday, Kamryn DeCarmo finished seventh in the women's one mile, as she clocked in at 5:16.94. She was just over two seconds away from cracking the top-5. On the men's side of the one mile, Blanton Gillespie placed eighth with a 4:21.34.
In the women's 400m, Desire Brown finished in the top-10, as the sophomore clocked in at 59.96.
In the 34-person field, Nichols finished in the top-10, as the senior posted a 26.04 in the women's 200m. Her teammate, Heather Grober placed 14th in the same event, as she recorded a 26.49.
Senior distance runner Kelley Coleman placed 11th in the women's 3000m, as she posted a 10:27.99.
Quotable
"This was a great job for the Bulldogs this weekend. I feel that we had some great improvements across all event groups, as it was our last tune-up meet before the conference championships. This meet will do good to set us up to beat some teams at the championships. As a coaching staff, we need to figure out where we can maximize the team's potential."
- Head Coach Jesse Norman -
What's Next?
The Bulldogs will take two weeks off, as they will rest up for the Indoor Big South Championship. The two-day meet begins on Feb. 23, as the meet is hosted by Liberty.
Players Mentioned
