Mason, Boyd leads at Alabama Relays
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 27, 2002
Troy State’s Amanda Mason and Michael Bond came away with individual victories at the Alabama Relays this past weekend in Tuscaloosa, capturing the javelin and 800m competitions, respectively.
The meet featured competitors from more than 60 schools over four days, including athletes from Alabama, UAB, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Memphis, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Southern Miss, Tulane, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin.
Mason, the Atlantic Sun Conference and Troy State record holder in the javelin, easily outdistance the field of more than 30 throwers with a heave of 136’2" ­ nearly 10 feet beyond her nearest competitor. Bond, running in the second heat of the 800 meters came through the first 400 meters in 53 seconds and finished with a 1:52.66, which put him nearly a half-second ahead of the second-place finisher.
"It was great to see Amanda win a big meet," Troy State Director of Track Bob Lambert said. "She has been working so hard for the past year to rehab from torn knee ligaments. As for Michael, when he saw the first heat go tactical, he knew he had a chance to steal the victory, so he took charge."
Also on the women’s side, the team of Sherion Taylor, Toya Lewis, Natalie Simmons and Sharon Reaves finished 12th in the 4×200 relay with a time of 1:40.71, the second-fastest finish in school history.
The TSU men’s team finished with 17 points, placing it in the top 10 teams at the meet. The women, meanwhile, finished with
In other noteworthy performances during the competition:
Freshman Michael Acree finished third in the long jump competition with a jump of 24’3.5".
The men’s shuttle hurdle relay team of Jesse Morrow, Johnnie Peppers, Desmon Newton and Arrington Watkins finished third behind Alabama and Cincinnati with a time of 59.01.
Andy Britt, Michael Acree, Emery Vickers and Louis Harris ran both the 4×100 (41.24) and 4×200 (1:25.02) relays, finishing seventh and fourth, respectively.
The 4×800 team, consisting of Linus Wilson, Rob Barton, Liam Barton and Wes Birdsong, captured sixth with a time of 7:55.
On the women’s side, Taylor, Lewis, Simmons and Reaves placed eighth in the 4×100 with a time of 47.29.
In the women’s 3000m, freshmen Lindsey Minnihan (10:36) and Belinda Bargmann (10:37) finished 13th and 14th, respectively.
Minnihan also anchored the distance medley relay team of Erin Doud, Natalie Simmons and Julia Miller, helping the unit to a ninth-place finish with a time of 12:45
Both teams travel to Gainesville this week to compete in the prestigious Florida Relays, which begin on Friday.