Feb. 29, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - (Friday, February 29, 2008) The Redhawks Track & Field teams had varying results after Day One of the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships being conducted at Tennessee State University's Gentry Center. The men's team looked poised to win their first indoor title since 1996 as they lead Eastern Illinois 48-37. The women on the other hand struggled as they sit in last place with only 9.5 points.

The men's team were helped by their field events which garnered two OVC individual champions. OVC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year Brandon Karcher continued his dominance in the shot put as he won his first OVC title with a toss of 55' 6 1/2". He led a Redhawks sweep in the shot put as teammates Andy Glass (50' 2 3/4"), Josh Uchtman (47' 3 1/4") and Andy Croxford (46' 9 1/2") finished second through fourth respectively.

Senior long jumper John Berry won his fifth individual title in six meets this season and his first OVC Championship with a season's and OVC best jump of 25' 1 1/2". This is Berry's first OVC title after finishing third at last year's championship.

Teammate Antoine Smith finished fifth with a leap of 23' 3 1/4" followed by Tyler Terry and Ryan Criglar at seventh and eighth place.

Senior Ryan Doty finished eighth in the high jump with a leap of 6' 0".

On the track the Redhawks set themselves up for a huge Day Two of the OVC Championships with Chris Gill winning the preliminary heats in both the 200 and 400 meters.

Brianna Egbuka finished ninth in the shot put with a toss of 40' 5".

 

He won the 200 meter prelims with a time of 21.93 and the 400 meter prelims in 49.32. Teammate Chris Poindexter finished second in the 400 prelims with a time of 49.74.

In the 5,000 meter finals the Redhawks had four runners finish in the top-12 led by Brandon Karcher's fourth place showing with a time of 15:05.66. Brandon Funderburk (15:31.43) just beat teammate Jason Lumpkin (15:31.71) for ninth. Dustin Davis finished 12th with a time of 15:35.97.

Despite their first day struggles the women's team look to make a charge for their seventh OVC Indoor title tomorrow with a full day of running events.

Funtasia Clark was the top Redhawks women's finisher with a third -place showing in the high jump. She leaped 5' 4 1/4" to secure the solid finish. Teammate Cara Harbstreet finished ninth with a jump of 5' 2 1/4".

In the 5,000 meters Brandi Gervais finished sixth with a time of 18:23.19.

Whitney Thomas won the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.17. Orie Ibe also qualified for the finals that will take place tomorrow afternoon.

The Murray State women have 32.5 points, just ahead of Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State with 32 points each. Jacksonville State (24), Samford (21), Austin Peay (17.5), Tennessee Tech (14.5), Eastern Kentucky (12) and Southeast Missouri (9.5) follow.

On the men's side, the Redhawks lead the six teams with 48 points, followed by Eastern Illinois (37), Eastern Kentucky (32), Tennessee State (28), Morehead State (8) and Samford

The OVC Indoor Championships continue on tomorrow Saturday, March 1, 2008 with field events beginning at 10:00 a.m. and running event finals beginning at 1:00 p.m. All events are being run on the Wilma Rudolph Indoor Track in the Gentry Center at Tennessee State University.