Smith, McNeil Close Marshall Invite with Wins

Saturday, February 10

Huntington, W.Va.

10:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Marshall Invitational

February 10, 2018 05:08 PM | Track & Field

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team closed competition at the Chipotle Marshall Invitational with three victories and a total of seven top-eight finishes, on Saturday, in Huntington, West Virginia.

Running Event Results | Field Event Results

The Mountaineers saw victories in the women's 200 and 400 meters by freshman McKenna Smith, as well as the women's triple jump by senior Shamoya McNeil on the final day of the two-day competition at Marshall's Jeff Small Track at Cline Athletic Complex.

WVU, which also sent four runners to the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday, finished the two-meet weekend with six total victories.

"We had some very good performances this weekend," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "You never want to have to send a team in two directions, but this weekend, we felt it was worthwhile to do so."

Smith got the Mountaineers' final day at Marshall started with her victory in the women's 400 meters. The Bridgeport, West Virginia, native finished in 56.13 before taking the 200 meters in 24.66 later on. Smith was part of three total victories at the two-day meet, as she also was a member of WVU's first-place distance medley relay team on Friday.

"It's nice to see McKenna rounding into shape in both her 200 and 400," Cleary said. "This will be a nice confidence boost for her."

Later on, McNeil earned a win in the women's triple jump with a mark of 12.42 meters (40 feet, 9 inches). The victory is McNeil's third in the event this indoor season.

The Mountaineers also garnered a second-place finish in the women's long jump as junior Danique Bryan posted a mark of 5.73 meters (18 feet, 9.75 inches). McNeil finished fourth in the event with a jump of 5.46 meters (17 feet, 11 inches), while freshman Michaela Ashford placed 13th.

Ashford went on to qualify for the women's 60-meter dash finals on Saturday. After winning her preliminary heat in 7.99, Ashford registered a time of 7.97 in the finals, good for sixth place.

In the women's 3,000 meters, freshman Marianne Abdalah finished sixth in 10:11.97, while redshirt freshman Antigone Archer placed 10th in 10:27.89. Redshirt sophomore Andrea Pettit also ran in the event, finishing 32nd.

Additionally, redshirt seniors Rebecca Wendt and Meghan Jean-Baptiste finished ninth in the women's 800 meters and women's shot put, respectively. Wendt tallied a time of 2:21.33 in the 800, while Jean-Baptiste earned a mark of 9.47 meters (31 feet, 1 inch) in the shot put.

The Mountaineers won three total events on Friday at the Marshall Invitational and David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Redshirt senior Amy Cashin ran a career-best time of 9:11.24 to win the women's 3,000 meters in Boston. The Werribee, Victoria, Australia, native posted the second-fastest time in indoor school history in the event. Also in Boston, redshirt senior Maggie Drazba claimed fifth in the women's 5,000 meters (16:34.48), while redshirt freshman Sarah Wills (17:04.57) took 11th in the same event. Redshirt sophomore Candace Jones ran a lifetime best in the women's mile, finishing in 4:51.86 for 29th place.

WVU's first night at Marshall featured a victory by redshirt junior Madelin Gardner in the women's pole vault. Gardner earned a track-record mark of 4.25 meters (13 feet, 11.25 inches) in the event, while senior Sara Finfrock took second with an indoor career-best mark of 4.05 meters (13 feet, 3.50 inches). Freshman Ellie Gardner (3.75 meters – 12 feet, 3.50 inches) finished in third.

WVU also won the women's distance medley relay on Friday at Marshall, as Archer, Wendt, Smith and Abdalah teamed to place first in 12:18.57.

In all, WVU closed with weekend with a total of 14 top-eight finishes at the two meets.

"The vaulters were quite impressive," Cleary said. "Maddie continued her standout season and led two of her teammates to lifetime bests. Sara returns home having broken the 13-feet barrier, and we are very happy with the group's progression.

"Up in Boston, we return with three lifetime bests out of four races. Amy was sensational over 3,000 meters. Going in, we talked about forgetting about time and simply racing to win. This was a big win for her."

The Mountaineers were one of 12 teams competing at the Marshall Invitational this weekend, which also featured Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Fort Wayne, Marshall, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, SIU-Edwardsville, UNC-Asheville, Wright State and Winthrop. WVU also was one of more than 90 teams participating at Boston University.

WVU will next compete at the Penn State Tune-Up, on Saturday, Feb. 17, in University Park, Pennsylvania.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.