Meet records fall at Armory New Balance Collegiate Invitational in NYC; PSU Records Too!


Over 100 college and university teams from across the U.S., Canada, and Europe competed in the 10th running of the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Track & Field Center in Washington Heights, NYC this past weekend. Nine meet records were broken in what is the largest collegiate indoor meet in the nation.
 
Locally, three Portland State University athletes set personal records. Sophomore Joenisha Vinson tied the school record in the college 60 hurdles. She finished 20th overall with a time of 8.71. Portland State University’s Karene King finished 3rd in the college section of the women’s 200 in a PR 24.87 and 6th in the 60 (college section) in 7.73. Geronne Black, a sophomore from Paul Robeson High School in New York, set a personal best to finish third in the college section of the women’s 60 in 7.69.
 
Other PSU performances included Adrienne Davis in the shot put (13.09m or 42 feet 11 ½), Mikeya Nicholson in the triple jump (11.50m), freshman Nathan Lightner in the 200 and 400 (22.96 and 49.86 respectively), and Nick Trubachick in the 60m hurdles (8.5). PSU’s 4x4 quartet of Malissa Anthony, Alyssa Rife, Joenisha Vinson and Amirah Karim finished 15th behind teams from Georgia State, Wisconsin and North Carolina Central.
 
Walter Henning, a senior at LSU won the 35-pound weight throw, shattering his own meet record and the Armory’s college record with a winning mark of 76 feet 6 ½ inches. His previous best (and LSU record) was set at the New Mexico Invitational on January 30. He threw 75-8 at that meet. Henning’s previous meet record was set at the Collegiate Invitational 72- 8 ½ one year ago. Henning was chosen the Dr. Phillip Edwards Outstanding Male Competitor.
 
Curtis Beach, the national high school decathlon record-holder, now a freshman at Duke (far left), finished 7th in the college division of the high jump and 8th in the college division men’s high hurdles. He also unleashed a 47.7 leg on Duke’s winning DMR, and anchored Duke’s victorious 4x8 relay with a 1:47.9 split. Beach’s 400 split time would have placed him among the top finishers in the championship 400 and his 800 split time would have won that event.
 
Mindy McClurkin of BYU (right - lane 2) was awarded the Evelyn Lawler Outstanding Women’s Competitor award. She placed 7th in the 60 consolation final, placed third in the championship 200, won the long jump and anchored BYU’s 4x200 to a photo finish win over Tennessee (1:38.64 to 1:38.68). Evelyn Lawler Lewis, the mother of Carl and Carol Lewis, competed in the building in the late 1940s.
 
Arkansas senior Katie Stripling won the pole vault. She cleared 14-1.25, tying the meet record set by Kate Sultanova of Kansas in 2008, and led a 1-2-5 finish for Arkansas in the event.
 
Texas A&M’s Natasha Ruddock and Gabby Mayo both dipped under the meet and building collegiate record in the women’s 60 hurdles (championship) finishing 1-2 (8:06 to 8:08). The previous record of 8:09 was set by Seun Adigun of Houston in 2009. Ruddock lowered her Texas A&M school record from 8.15.
 
Nicole Schappert of Villanova (left) broke the meet mile record, winning in a time of 4:35.97 over Georgetown’s Emily Infeld (4:36.83) and Jessica O’Connell of West Virginia (4:43.73). The previous record (4:38.48) was set by Stanford’s Lauren Fleshman in 2002.  Schappert also led off Villanova’s winning DMR
that finished just .02 seconds ahead of the Tennessee team of Phoebe Wright, Ellen Wortham, Brittany Sheffey and Chanelle Price.
 
Jeneba Tarmoh of Texas A&M (right) won the championship women’s 60 and 200, edging teammate Porscha Lucas in the final of the 200 (23.44 to 23.51) and besting defending NCAA champion LaKya Brookins of South Carolina. Both runners were clocked in 7.29

Team scores: MEN: Texas A&M 99, LSU 77, Oklahoma 68, Arkansas 48, Tennessee 47, Duke 43, Texas 39, Villanova 33, BYU 32.5, George Mason 24, Texas San Antonio 24. WOMEN:  Texas A&M 107, BYU 105, LSU 56, Connecticut 46, Arkansas 40, Villanova 37, South Carolina 34, Oklahoma 33, Wisconsin 33.
 
On the second day of this two-day meet, coaches in attendance who were past winners of NCAA Division 1 championships were recognized in a ceremony that included Olympian Carl Lewis.
 
The 2011 Collegiate Invitational will take place February 4-5, 2010.
 
Story, photos by Kim Spir