MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston track and field team displayed both talent and toughness on Friday, battling through adverse weather conditions at the Park West Track Complex, en route to another strong showing at the home-hosted Palmetto Classic.
Amidst sideways rain and low temperatures, the Cougars took to the elements well, racking up nine top-three finishes against stiff competition from student-athletes representing 13 different institutions.
“You're not going to see really fast times with the type of wind and rain we had today, but I think we performed well,” said College of Charleston Track and Field head coach Amy Seago. “Competitive is the word that first comes to mind for me; we showed the urge to get after it and we had the type of competitive edge that will be so important as the season goes on. We may very well see these same types of conditions at the CAA Championships in May.”
On the track, the Cougars were bolstered by a quality all-around performance from Lorna Doucette, who finished second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. In the 400, Hayley McMahon finished in third place while Kornelia Kostka registered a fourth-place finish in the mile. Alexia Neal was strong for the Cougars in the hurdles, finishing second in the 100 and the 400, just before The College's 4x100 relay team earned an impressive second place finish, after being narrowly beat out by Winthrop.
On the men's side, where the Cougars talented group of long distance runners entered the fray, it was Mackenzie Johnston who shined brightest, winning the mile and finishing second in the 800 meter. Nick Putnam led the Cougars in the 5K, finishing in second-place.
On the field, the Cougars were led by Tiffany Sisk, who finished second in the shot-put, while in the hammer throw; Alex Coyle had a great first showing, coming up just short of a new life-time best.
“I'm very proud of the entire throws crew,” said College of Charleston assistant coach Ben Yocum. “They did an excellent job of managing the conditions – I can always rely on them to come through when it counts. Every coach wants for that one athlete that they can coach and just turn loose in competition, right now I'm blessed with an entire group of them.”
Competing for the first time today in a Cougar uniform was Alexa Chiarelli, while returning from injury for the first time was Allie Beauregard.
NEXT UP!
Next up for the Cougars is the UNCW Seahawk Invitational on Friday, Mar 14, in Wilmington, N.C.
