MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team opened the outdoor season claiming two victories on the first day of the 49er Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday.
Friday’s competition was highlighted by a pair of Mountaineer wins from sophomores Danique Bryan and Madelin Gardner. West Virginia posted a total of four top-seven finishes - all in field events.
"Our jumpers led the way today," said coach Sean Cleary. "I am very happy with the way Danique, Shamoya and Maddie competed. If the first meet is any indication of the remainder of the season, they will have some great moments in store for them. We need to add more names to that list as we go forward. Tomorrow is another opportunity to create a few more names to that list."
The first victory for WVU came from the Clarendon, Jamaica, native Bryan, as she jumped a career-best mark of 6.01 meters in the women’s long jump finals. Junior Shamoya McNeil posted a top-five finish, placing fifth with a mark of 5.80 meters.
In the women’s pole vault seeded finals, Gardner won with a mark of 3.90 meters, just .01 meters shy of matching her career best. Freshman Greer Gumbrecht followed in seventh place with a vault of 3.50 meters.
Junior Meghan Jean-Baptiste finished 20th in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.37.
Sophomore Chaqieta Robinson took 38th in the 400-meter prelims with a time of 59.60, and junior Bria Welker crossed in 40th in 59.62.
Bryan competed in her second event of the day, in the 100 meter prelims, placing 39th with a time of 12.66.
In her second event of the day, Welker finished 44th in the 200-meter run with a time of 26.11. McNeil crossed the finish line in 74th in 26.86, followed by Jean-Baptiste in 83rd (27.26).
Redshirt freshman Andrea Pettit placed 62nd in the 1,500 meters, crossing the finish line in 5:11.61.
Competition will conclude on Saturday with shot put starting at 10:00 a.m. ET. Fans can follow the meet live at
flashresults.com. Charlotte hosts 54 teams at the two-day event at the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center.
The Mountaineers will return to North Carolina the following week, as they gear up for the Raleigh Relays on March 24-25.
