March 27, 2010
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track and field athletes won three events and had the top collegiate time in one other as the Tigers opened the 2010 outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech.
Auburn kept some of its top competitors at home to rest following the conclusion of the indoor season and limited the activity for some others. However several Tigers did still shine during the competition.
"I was pleased with the effort today," said head coach Ralph Spry. "It was our first outdoor meet and our main focus was just to get the ball rolling and get a little rest for some of our top kids. We had some good performances and left healthy, so that was our goal for the weekend."
Redshirt freshman Harry Adams won the men's 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.17 seconds. Although the tailwind of 3.2 meters per second was too strong to make his time eligible for the Tigers' all-time top 10 list, he still easily won the competition, finishing a full .3 seconds ahead of the next fastest competitor in the field of 22 sprinters.
"That was probably the highlight of the meet for us," said Spry. "It was a very impressive run. That was the first 100 he's run since high school so I'm very pleased with his performance."
In the men's 800 meters, senior Felix Kiboiywo finished first with a time of 1:53.22, finishing more than a half second ahead of the runner-up. Sophomore Jeff Sanders was 10th in 1:56.09.
Senior Luke Gaines won the men's javelin with a mark of 61.47 meters (201-8), which was just 10 inches shy of his personal best. Sophomore Michael Dekich was second with a personal best of 59.95 meters (196-8) and redshirt freshman Tyler Kennedy was third.
The Auburn women's 4x100-meter relay placed second overall but was first among college squads. The team of senior Shaquela Williams, juniors Joanna Atkins and Sheniqua Ferguson and freshman Kai Selvon clocked a time of 44.82 seconds, finishing just .02 seconds behind a team of elite former Auburn runners.
Freshman Maya Pressley placed second in the women's high jump, clearing a height of 1.75 meters (5-8.75). In the women's 1500 meters, junior Amber Riley was fourth in 4:35.30, while senior Stephanie Barnes was one spot behind with a time of 4:36.66.
Senior Amelia Anderson finished fifth in the women's 100-meter hurdles (13.98), senior Shaquela Williams was fifth in the women's 100 meters (11.72) and sophomore Lakin Spear was fifth in the javelin.
Other men's top performers included senior Scott Novack, who was fifth in the 1500 meters (3:56.56), while in the 400 meters, junior Michael DeHaven and sophomore Spencer Ferguson finished sixth (48.89) and seventh (48.94), respectively.
In addition, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of junior Stephen Fly, sophomore Neil Danville, DeHaven and Ferguson placed fourth in 3:16.81.
In addition, Auburn had one athlete open the season at the Alabama Relays. Senior Jager Livingston competed in the decathlon, finishing the two-day event with 6,443 points while finishing in third place out of 20 competitors. Livingston stodd in 11th place after the first five events, but recorded the highest second-day total in the field to climb to third.
Auburn will host the Tiger Track Classic next Friday and Saturday. The hammer throw and javelin events will take place on Friday, with all other events slated for Saturday.