CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The College of Charleston track and field team began its 2014 campaign in style on Saturday, claiming four first-place finishes at the Joe Hilton Invitational, hosted by the University of North Carolina.
Freshman Julisa Tindall (Rock Hill, S.C.) and RoShani Glover (Summerville, S.C.) won the high jump and triple jump, respectively, while distance runners Hayley McMahon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Trish Rein (Philadelphia, Pa.) claimed victory in the mile and 3,000 meter runs.
Track and Field head coach Amy Seago, entering her 11th season at the helm, was impressed with her team's competitiveness following the match:
“This is a good starting point for us,” said Seago. “This is probably the best start to a season for us that I can remember. We're only going to get better with experience, and I think the fact that we started this positively speaks well for us going forward.”
Outside of the event winners, numerous Cougars put in very positive showings on Saturday, including freshmen Carlee Cassidy (Lindsay, Ontario), who finished second in the mile with a time of 5:12.71, and thrower Alex Coyle (Corruna, Ontario), who finished in ninth-place in the weight throw (13.12 meters).
“I feel like all the freshmen really showed up today,” said Seago. “They competed with poise and toughness. We talked prior to the meet about embracing competition and I think this group did just that.”
Also standing out for the Cougars were Lorna Doucette (Fletcher, N.C.) – who finished third in the 60-meter dash with a time that bettered her qualifying mark– as well as fellow sprinters Alexia Neal (Beaufort, S.C.) and Rachel Leder (Greenville, S.C.).
The Cougars will look to build on their strong performance next weekend, when they return to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Tar Hell Open College Meet on Sat, Jan. 25.
“There will be some comfort for us from a competition standpoint in that we're back at the same venue,” said Seago. “But assistant Ben Yocum put it best, saying for us, the most important thing is to make sure we're looking out the front windshield, not in the rear view mirror.”
