University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Patriot Games
Spiders See Improvement At Patriot Games
01/30/2011 | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 30, 2011
FAIRFAX, Va. - The Richmond men's and women's indoor track & field teams had an impressive showing this weekend at the Patriot Games hosted by George Mason University. Jenn Ennis, X'auntasia Johnson, Beth Kelly, Tremayne Graham and Devin Cassels all clinched top-five spots in their events.
"We made some good progress this week," said women's head coach Lori Taylor. "The team and individual focus on competing was good. We want to see this same progress each week as we move toward the championship part of our season.
Senior Jenn Ennis placed third in the mile run (5:03.61), followed by freshman Alli Mannon in seventh (5:11.03).
Spider's senior X'auntasia Johnson came in second-place in the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.54m.
Junior Beth Kelly finished fifth in the 3000m run with a time of 10:14.71, along with fellow junior Emma Berry who placed 13th (10:34.14).
Seniors Amy Van Alstine and Nicol Traynor also participated in the women's 3000m run, however, they ran unattached. Van Alstine clinched first-place with a time of 9:43.66, and Traynor finished second (9:47.56). Both women broke the Richmond 3000m record, however, it will not be official due to the women running unattached.
Van Alstine will be eligible to participate in the outdoor season, and before then, she will compete in the USA Cross Country Championships next weekend in San Diego, Calif. Traynor is redshirting the 2011 indoor season.
The men also had a successful day at the Patriot Games. Senior Tremayne Graham placed third in the men's 60m dash with a time of 7.01, improving by six-hundredths of a second from last weekend's time at the Terrapin Invitational.
Junior Devin Cassels finished second in the pole vault competition with a personal indoor best mark of 4.15m.
In the men's mile run, junior Levi Grandt placed 10th with a time of 4:24.21, followed by sophomore Chris York who came in 11th with a time of 4:24.98.
"Today we saw much improvement over last week," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "Although we expect it, it's still good see our athletes respond to our challenge and to the competition. Practically everyone on the team improved by a substantial margin. They were not content or complacent during their competitions."
The Spiders' next stop is at the New Balance Games in NYC Armory, N.Y. and the VMI Winter Relays in Lexington, Va. next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5.
