Senior steeplechase standout Tsehaye Dagnachew |
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Charlotte Shatters Record Books with 13 Regional Performances and Three School Records at Four Weekend Meets
April 21, 2008
Mt. SAC Relay Results - Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational Results - Davidson Invitational Results - North Carolina A&T Results
Charlotte, N.C. - With nearly 100 student-athletes competing at four separate meets over the weekend, the Charlotte 49ers outdoor track and field teams collected an astounding 13 NCAA Regional qualifying performances, with at least one coming from each of the four meets in which they participated, while turning in three program records. Thirty (14 men and 16 women) top 10 all-time program performances were assembled, while 51 tracksters (28 men and 23 women) posted new or improved Atlantic 10 Top 15 performances.
"I'm extremely pleased with the outcome of this busy weekend," head coach Robert Olesen said. "It was ambitious plan to be represented at four different meets in the same weekend but with the much appreciated help of some athlete department staff members, we were able to pull it off."
"The number of Charlotte track and field athletes competing was unprecedented and the number and high level of successful performances may have been as well."
At the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays, senior standout Tsehaye Dagnachew ran a school record and Olympic Trials B qualifying time of 10:10.53 in the 3000m steeplechase, improving her NCAA Regional qualifying performance and national ranking to an unofficial third. Dagnachew, who owns the best steeplechase time in the region and conference, finished 11th in the invitational section of the event, posting the second fastest collegiate time in a group of only three college-level athletes mixed with post-collegiates and professionals.
On the men's side, Dagnachew's steeplechase counterpart Adu Dentamo improved his NCAA Regional qualifier at Princeton with a school-record time of 8:58.41, finishing second in the event. He now moves into second in the conference while unofficially ranking ninth in the region and 19th in the country.
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Rounding out the program record-breaking performances, Pat Springs won the long jump at North Carolina A&T with a 20'10.75" (6.37m) leap, improving her Regional qualifier to rank first in the conference and an unofficial fourth and eighth in the region and nation, respectively.
Overall, six women and four men joined Dagnachew, Dentamo and Springs with NCAA Regional performances: Tavaris Leak (Long Jump, NC A&T), LaMarcus Outing (Long Jump, Davidson), Darius Law (200m, NC A&T), Dewayne Chandler (110m hurdles, NC A&T), Women's 4x100m team (Lajarsha Moses, Lamarra Currie, Springs and Courtney Patterson, NC A&T), Aja Jackson (800m, Princeton), Patterson (200m, NC A&T), Moses (100m NC A&T) and Currie (100m NC A&T).
Charlotte returns to action this weekend, sending a small group to the Penn Relays in preparation for the Atlantic 10 Championships the following week.
