WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- The Tusculum University track and field teams competed Saturday at the Mondo Collegiate Invitational, held at the JDL Fast Track.
The Pioneer men earned four victories at the meet -- grad student Zack Nelson in the 200 meters, senior Dorian Craven in the 400 meters, freshman Pau Valdepenas in the mile, and the 4x400 relay. Tusculum's women had a school-record performance from sophomore Theresa Green-White en route to a second-place result in the 60 hurdles.
The Pioneers return to action on Friday-Saturday, Jan. 19-20 at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville.
MEN'S RECAP
Nelson ran 22.49 in the 200 finals to take first place, with senior Marquel Pittman in fourth at 22.80 seconds and junior Stephen Brewer in fifth at 22.81 seconds. In the 400, Craven was timed at 50.03 to capture first, while Valdepenas was clocked at 4:26.23 in the mile for the fourth-fastest time in school history.
In the 60 meters, senior Jordan Taylor was fourth at 6.92 seconds, while senior Jamal Cash was the top Pioneer finisher in the 60 hurdles as he was ninth at 8.65 seconds.
Tusculum had five runners in the top 20 in the 600 meters, led by grad student Antonio Aparicio who was fourth in 1:26.06. Junior Xay Bogus was sixth overall in 1:27.07, with junior Landen Locklear taking 11th in 1:30.37, junior Benit Kitapindu in 13th at 1:31.09 and freshman Kayvon Pickett in 18th place at 1:34.16.
Valdepenas was fourth overall in the 3000 meters at 8:46.37, with freshman Sam Shipp in eighth place at 8:58.46. Shipp was 15th in the mile with a time of 4:44.48.
The Tusculum 4x400 relay of Brewer, Nelson, Aparicio and Craven set a meet record with a winning time of 3:23.97.
In field events, junior Joshua Stephens finished fourth in the long jump at 6.66 meters (21 feet, 10 1/4 inches) and sophomore Daryl Smith Jr. took fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.26 meters (46 feet, 9 1/2 inches). Sophomore Adrian Gumm placed fifth in the shot put at 14.43 meters (47 feet, 4 1/4 inches), which was 4 1/4 inches shy of his school record set last season at Vanderbilt.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Green-White was seeded third in the finals of the 60 hurdles after running 8.95 seconds in prelims. In the finals, she ran 8.85 seconds to break her own school record of 8.92 seconds set at last year's SAC Championship.
Freshman Alonda Shelton took third place in the 200 meters at 26.08 seconds, while senior Judy Chellah finished sixth in the 600 meters at 1:46.19. Chellah's time was the second-best in program history, while Shelton's was eighth-fastest by a Tusculum runner.
The Pioneers did not advance any runners to the finals of the 60 meters, but sophomore Kiera Taylor tied for the third-fastest time in program history at 7.71 in prelims. Shelton's time of 7.81 seconds in qualifying put her fourth on the program performance list in the event.
Sophomore Inmaculada Delgado finished 15th overall in the mile at 5:50.53, and took 14th place in the 3000 meters at 11:11.29. Her mile time put her 10th on the Tusculum performance list, while her 3000 was the 10th-fastest in school history.
The Pioneers took third place in the 4x400 relay, with the quartet of Green-White, freshman A'jaylah Yates, Shelton and Taylor running 4:13.08.
Mondo College Invitational
at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Tusculum results
MEN
60 prelims: 4. Jordan Taylor, 6.96 (advances); 12. Lansford Cunningham, 6.99; 14. Marquel Pittman, 7.00; 17. Isaiah Olson, 7.05.
60 finals: 4. Jordan Taylor, 6.92.
60 hurdles prelims: 9. Jamal Cash, 8.65; 17. Colton Reese, 9.33.
200: 1. Zack Nelson, 22.49; 4. Marquel Pittman, 22.80; 5. Stephen Brewer, 22.81; 45. Carlos Turner, 26.76.
400: 1. Dorian Craven, 50.03; 11. Jamal Cash, 53.46.
600: 4. Antonio Aparicio, 1:26.06; 6. Xay Bogus, 1:27.07; 11. Landen Locklear, 1:30.37; 13. Benit Kitapindu, 1:31.09; 18. Kayvon Pickett, 1:34.16.
1000: 17. Keelen Lester, 3:14.28.
Mile: 1. Pau Valdepenas, 4:26.23; 15. Sam Shipp, 4:44.48; 24. Jerry Ricker, 4:56.13; 37. Simon Ray, 5:16.36; 40. Ryan Drysch, 5:22.74.
3000: 4. Pau Valdepenas, 8:46.37; 8. Sam Shipp, 8:58.46; 25. Jerry Ricker, 9:41.72.
4x400: 1. Tusculum (Brewer, Nelson, Aparicio, Craven), 3:23.97.
Long jump: 4. Joshua Stephens, 6.66m (21-10 1/4); 12. Daryl Smith Jr., 6.36m (20-10 1/2)
Triple jump: 4. Daryl Smith Jr., 14.26m (46-9 1/2); 5. Joshua Stephens, 14.23m (46-8 1/4); 16. Keelen Lester, 11.89m (39-1/4).
Shot put: 5. Adrian Gumm, 14.43m (47-4 1/4); 12. Dylan Horne, 12.89m (42-3 1/2); 15. Gavin Rowell, 12.64m (41-5 3/4).
WOMEN
60 qualifying: 1. Alonda Shelton, 7.81 (advances); 11. Kieley Smith, 8.14.
60 prelims: 11. Kiera Taylor, 7.71; 13. A'jaylah Yates, 7.74; 23. Theresa Green-White, 7.85; 25. Alonda Shelton, 7.87.
60 hurdles prelims: 3. Theresa Green-White, 8.95 (advances).
60 hurdles finals: 2. Theresa Green-White, 8.85 (school record).
200: 3. Alonda Shelton, 26.08; 39. Caley Sosnowski, 30.27.
400: 12. Caley Sosnowski, 1:05.62.
600: 6. Judy Chellah, 1:46.19; 14. Macey Snapp, 2:00.99.
Mile: 15. Inmaculada Delgado, 5:50.53.
3000: 14. Inmaculada Delgado, 11:11.29.
4x400: 3. Tusculum (Green-White, Yates, Shelton, Taylor), 4:13.08.
Shot put: 23. Amber Hogan, 9.59m (31-5 3/4).
