Hello, and welcome to coverage of Championship Saturday from the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships! We've got Felix Kitur in the 800, Trae Alexander in the 200, Hannah Granger in the 5K and Chad Lawson in the discus, among others, all competing for championships today as the Keydet men bid for second place. As always, relevant links are above and any videos taken can be found here, and please feel free to email saloisbj@vmi.edu with any questions, comments or thoughts!
Men's Team Scores (Final)
1) Liberty - 194
2) Coastal Carolina - 117.5
3) Radford - 100
4) VMI - 95.5
5T) High Point - 88
5T) Charleston Southern - 88
7) Gardner-Webb - 55
8) Winthrop - 50.5
9) UNC Asheville - 28.5
Women's Team Scores (Final)
1) Liberty - 245.5
2) Coastal Carolina - 191
3) Charleston Southern - 90
4) Winthrop - 73
5) High Point - 69
6) Radford - 56.5
7) Gardner-Webb - 39
8) UNC Asheville - 37
9) VMI - 16
4:49 - Wrapping up the awards now...Speaking on behalf of the VMI coaching staff and the entire Keydet team, we appreciate your support! It's been great to have people following the Keydet efforts here in Charleston, and I know that the teams are thankful to have you, our readers, behind us. We do have some additional pictures, which you can look for early next week on VMIKeydets.com. A story will be posted sometime this evening, depending on the wireless connection we are able to achieve on the bus back. If you'd like to view the results, they will be posted on CSU's meet central page as soon as they become available, which should be in the next 15-20 minutes.
Once again, thank you for joining us from the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships! This is Brad Salois, signing off from Charleston, S.C.
4:36 - Evans Kigen of Liberty is the Most Outstanding Track Performer, with Clarence Powell of Liberty being named the Most Outstanding Field Performer. Freshman of the Year is Josh Pelletier of High Point, with Brant Tolsma of Liberty winning the Coach of the Year award on the men's side. Brown of Coastal is the Most Outstanding Track Performer on the women's side, with Brittany Connor of CCU being the Outstanding Field Performer. Meghan Burggraf of Liberty is the Freshman of the Year for the women, with Tolsma winning the COY award on that side as well. Hannah Granger and Matt Satterwhite are on the All-Academic teams.
4:30 - Final scores are posted...Solid day for the Keydets. Presentations to follow...Going to try to write a quick LAX story, but will be back shortly with further posts.
4:09 - Winthrop wins the women's 4X4 to wrap up the meet...Presentations (most outstanding performer, etc) to follow.
4:08 - According to my calculations, the Keydet men will end up fourth, trailing Liberty, Coastal and Radford. That, of course, is unofficial.
4:04 - In the men's 5K, it was...Wow, surprising. I got off on my count, and the Keydets actually ended up fifth and sixth. McGinn was fifth in 15:33.04, with Satterwhite sixth in 15:33.33. Team standings will be updated through the 5K's momentarily...I know it's not ideal to have the delay in standings like this, with the 4X4 already done, but we're doing everything we can.
4:00 - Alexander holds it together and the Keydets finish second...Awesome effort. That will wrap up the meet for the men's side, but as you may have guessed, we'll have to wait for final standings. Standings above reflect through the 5K...3:17.86 for the Keydets in the 4X4, Radford wins with LU third.
Hannah Granger did finish 8th in the 5K (18:38.77), with Lindsey Carty 13th (19:34.25).
3:59 - CSU drops out (remember, earlier injuries), and Kitur pulls VMI even with Liberty for second.
3:57 - Great start for Charleston...Jackson battling but slipping back...Poor exchange but Fuller makes a great recovery and pulls to third on the back stretch..Wow, what a leg for Fuller if he can finish...
3:54 - The fourth entrant is Kitur...I'm going to try to give updates during this, so we'll see how that works out.
3:52 p.m. - Carty finished the 5K in a time of 19:34.25, believe that was 13th, but again, timing issues. The men's 4X4 is about to start, with the Keydets likely to have Jackson, Alexander, Fuller and...Well, I don't know who would be the fourth entrant. Kitur?
3:44 - Osborne wins, Klugh second...I believe Granger was eighth in 18:38.72, but we'll have to wait.
3:43 - Bell lap for the leaders...Granger splits 17:06 with a lap to go.
3:42 - With two to go, still Osborne and Klugh up front...Granger eighth.
3:40 - Granger is struggling now...Don't assume this is just a bad race, there may be a reason.
3:38 - Granger continues to run this slow pace and falls to sixth...Osborne and Klugh with separation now, Granger may be hurting...
3:37 - Still Granger and Osborne, but the pace has slowed WAY down...Five to go.
3:35 - Granger goes to the lead on the backstretch, coming to seven to go, and Osborne goes right with her...Crotts stays with the two leaders...Hannah's split at the line is 9:24.
3:33 - Here comes Granger's first move...This is a traditional tactic by Hannah. She goes to third and immediately slows up a bit, Phillips jogs by her. Granger fourth behind Crotts, Osborne and Phillips...
3:30 - Granger in sixth now...Phillips of WU goes to the lead...Followed by Crotts, Osborne, Jennifer Klugh, Joyce Curtin of CCU and Granger...No one with much separation.
3:29 - Granger running about mid-pack...
3:28 - Crotts of Radford takes the lead early, with Carey Phillips of Winthrop on her shoulder...I'm having trouble picking up Granger because VMI is in white jerseys today, and so is everyone else...
3:26 - Women's 5K underway...Expected to be Hannah Granger, Lori Crotts of Radford and Ashley Osborne of Liberty...
3:23 - Satterwhite and McGinn caught that Charleston runner down the stretch...Waiting on final results.
Titcombe did grab third in the triple jump, with a jump of 14.57 meters. We'll have team scores updated shortly, and it'll be through both the 200 and the triple jump.
3:21 - Kigen wins, CSU runner getting away from VMI runners...
3:20 - Bell lap...Dogfight back in the Keydet spots...CSU runner trying to pass them...
3:19 - Kigen has two laps to go and no one is going to catch him...Cherry second...Keydets remain 7th-9th, with Sagar leading the trio...
3:17 - Sagar moves to the front of the pelaton, if you will, and takes over seventh...Satterwhite on his heels, and Ian McGinn right with them.
3:16 - Sagar and Satterwhite now running right together on the back stretch with 4 and a half to go...
3:15 - Kigen with a huge lead at five to go...Sagar and Satterwhite still in the same spot, fighting toward the back of the scoring places...
3:14 - Satterwhite running eighth, Sagar makes a big move to the outside with seven laps to go to try to join him...Tactical race in the middle of the pack, which favors VMI.
3:12 - Kigen breaks away from Cherry, who runs second...Three HPU runners in the top four...Cherry's form not looking as smooth as yesterday...No change in the Keydets' pack of about 15 runners, except that they're losing ground to the leader.
3:11 - Kigen splits 4:44 at the mile, the group containing all the Keydets (led by 6th place) is together and splits at 5:03.
3:10 - Kigen takes the lead with Cherry on his heels...The Keydets are all running about 8th and split 3:12 with 10 to go...
By the way, we still have no results from the triple jump.
3:07 p.m. - Underway...3/4 lap in...A Winthrop runner is rabbiting...Evans Kigen of LU, yesterday's steeplechase winner, goes to the lead of a pack of four that includes Jesse Cherry of High Point, Thursday's 10K winner.
3:03 p.m. - We're getting ready for the start of the 5K...Hope to have updated standings through the 200 in a moment. Sagar, Satterwhite and McGinn are all running here.
2:56 p.m. - James Alexander with a 21.52 clocking for second place in the 200! That is a BIG result for the Keydets...Not sure if it's enough to vault them very far in the standings, but it gives them a chance.
2:55 p.m. - Another CSU athlete grabs his hamstring going around the first turn, as does Raschad Kelso of Radford...Waiting on times on the board...
2:53 p.m. - Javon Young false starts...Major development in the 200. He's out.
2:41 p.m. - A short video of Kitur's award ceremony has been posted on the video page and linked in the 2:28 update...We've got hurdles on the track right now, so it's a great time to play catch-up.
Lawson finished third in the discus, 47.53 meters (155'11"). The winning throw was 48.55, so it was a very close event. Cody Davis finished 15th, which was not the result he was looking for.
As you can see, Charleston Southern has some distance for third place, especially considering the Bucs' dominance in the still-to-come 200...But VMI could get quality points in the 5K and 4X4, so this is by no means over. More movement in the standings can be expected.
2:28 p.m. - Kitur's 1:49.62 was a Big South meet record, besting his prelim outing yesterday. He wins, officially, by 3.25 seconds. Should have pictures up in a minute...Men's team scores are updated through the 800.
2:15 p.m. - Working on getting some pictures up now that we have a moment to breath...Discus is still going on, but with all the ruckus on track, I haven't been able to update that. The next events are hurdles, followed by James Alexander in the 200-meters.
Paul Carmany of Liberty just pointed out that Lawson is coming across the field, alongside Elliott Galeone of Liberty and another competitor. That likely means Lawson was in the top three of the discus. Official times from the 800 coming up, hopefully, along with the discus.
2:00 p.m. - Kitur absolutely destroys the field and, unofficially, goes 1:49.57. He thought 1:48 was possible yesterday, but didn't need anywhere NEAR that...Total domination.
Also of interest is the fact that a Radford runner went down after a collision.
Official time is 1:49.62, wins by more than three seconds.
Chandale Williams BLEW AWAY the 400-meter school record, as her official time was 55.67. That's more than a second. Great way to close out her Big South career.
1:59 p.m. - Split is 52 seconds, Kitur by a LOT...Could be special...
1:58 p.m. - 800 just about to start...Underway
1:46 p.m. - We're back in the press box to see the 100-meters...CSU's Javon Young just went 10.23 to win, but he came up hobbling as he crossed the line. Will be interesting to see his status for the rest of the meet.
While we were out, we learned that Chad Lawson sits in second place in the discus throw, with a throw of over 47 meters. Terrance Green's best triple jump was a 13.38, and it looks like Chandale Williams shattered her 400-meter school record en route to a fifth-place finish. Going to wait on some confirmation for that though.
We'll get some updated team scores for you as soon as we can, but I've got to get something to drink...It's hot out here! 800-meters to come...
1:01 p.m. - Wanted to update the team scores before heading out...With that done, I'm on my way to the triple jump pit. Will probably not catch Green's first jump, but should be able to report from there.
12:57 p.m. - I am going to head over to the triple jump in a few moments...Check out updates on our Twitter feed. Terrance Green will jump in flight one, with Ademola Titcombe in flight two. Also, I wanted to throw out there that I ran into Chad Lawson on the way back up from lunch...He looks prepared and focused, ready to go.
12:49 p.m. - After a quick run down four flights of stairs to retrieve my six-inch grilled chicken Subway sandwich, I've eaten it and am back in the press box. The men's triple jump is going to start at 1, with nothing that really strongly involves the Keydets on track until about 2, when Felix Kitur runs his 800-meter final (1:55, to be precise), so I may go over and cover the triple on Twitter. We'll have to see how the next few minutes go, but as always, I'll let you know.
12:37 p.m. - There's going to be a brief break from posts, as I try to take advantage of this 15-20 minute downtime to find something to eat. If I see anything relevant down on field level, I'll put it on Twitter.
12:36 p.m. - An huge event for VMI is starting right now, as the men's discus is about to get underway...Lawson and Davis need to score. They both will be in flight two.
12:35 p.m. - Final updates from the men's 1,500...Mujezinovic 7th (3:58.99), Gonsalves 10th (4:00.89), Thorpe 12th (4:02.58).
12:33 p.m. - Women's team scores are now updated to include the 4X1, the triple jump and the discus, and the men's team scores show the CCU and HPU domination of the 1,500...Kling and Morgan are very legit, so that was no fluke. From a Keydet standpoint, we want to hope Kling tired Morgan out and Kitur can take advantage.
12:27 p.m. - We're going to have to wait on times because the board has cycled out of showing them.
12:26 p.m. - Kling announced as the winner, by one one-hundredth of a second, and he celebrates with a jump of joy.
12:25 p.m. - Mujezinovic finishes seventh, Gonsalves passed for eighth down the final straightaway. Mujezinovic helps up Coastal's Kyle Kling, who was in a battle with HPU's Josh Morgan for the win down the stretch and fell down at the start/finish line.
12:23 p.m. - Field is strung out...Every point counts...
12:22 p.m. - Bell lap...8th, 9th and 11th...
12:21 p.m. - Coming to two to go, the Keydets are running in a pack at the back of the field. Again...Tactics win races in conditions like this. Hot, kind of windy...This is not bad, and as I type, the threesome passes a runner.
12:18 p.m. - It's worth noting that, in the overall standings, that women's 4X1 could be huge. Coastal's anchor appeared to be injured at the end of her leg, allowing CSU to pass them for the win. If CCU's anchor was standout Ikeiylah Brown, that could change the entire complexion of the meet. Meantime, the men's 1,500-meter run is underway.
Men's 1,500-meter run is underway...Big event for the Keydets.
12:16 p.m. - VMI women finish sixth in their 4X1...Nice third leg, although I couldn't tell who it was by, and then Chandale Williams closed it out. Team scores are not updated yet, as the results board stopped rolling over by the time I was ready to type this post. Meanwhile, we do have a video of the men's version of that event.
12:07 p.m. - Team scores are updated...They are unofficial (I just did them in my head). CSU's 40.00 time is #15 in the country this season, and we do have a video of it. Give me a few minutes to get that up.
12:03 p.m. - Charleston wins with 40 seconds flat, new BSC meet record...Keydets fifth (Austin Lewis was the first leg) in 41.82. It went CSU, CCU, RU, LU and then VMI, followed by Winthrop, Gardner-Webb and Asheville.
Noon - 4X100 about to get underway...VMI will run out of lane two...
11:56 a.m. - Anthem done...Hope to put up a video of that in a second.
11:54 a.m. - One of them is Dada, I just saw him jogging over to Alexander and Green to join the discussion.
11:53 a.m. - Alexander and Green are warming up for the 4X1...Haven't seen the other two Keydets yet, but it may be Austin Lewis and Dada Titcombe. CSU should win this event and could threaten the meet record, but the important thing here for VMI is to manage the deficit.
11:48 a.m. - Three singers from the New Vision Vocal Ensemble will sing the anthem in seven minutes...The drama is building in Charleston! Just so it's out there, with the blitz of events that's coming, there will be less multimedia coverage. I'm a one-man team, and I'll do everything I can to get some pictures up, as well as video, but there won't be quite as much simply because of logistics and time.
11:45 a.m. - I'm told I misheard the time for the Anthem, it'll actually happen at 11:55 a.m.
11:39 a.m. - Women's discus is in its finals throws...Men's pole vault and women's triple jump are also going on right now, events which don't really affect VMI. Five minutes until the Anthem, and the start of the blitz.
One additional reminder: The live results are not being updated. There is a link in today's first update, if you'd like to go over detailed numbers from the first two days, but that does not feature live results.
11:35 a.m. - National Anthem just 10 minutes away...No, we don't do the anthem at the start of the day. It's different...When we were in New York in January, the anthem didn't actually take place until about 4:30, six or seven hours into the meet.
11:25 a.m. - Just got back from field level...Coach Spangler was discussing strategy with his three 1,500-meter runners. While I don't want to go into exactly what their strategy is, the amount of thought that goes into a race is truly fascinating. You always have to know what's going on around you when you run, it's not always just about speed.
Another race that'll go off at noon is the men's 4X100-meter relay...It looks like the VMI contingent is warming up now, although that's not confirmed.
11:06 a.m. - All right, here is the promised breakdown. Perhaps the biggest moments of the meet for VMI come over a 40-minute span, starting in just over an hour.
12:20 - Men's 1,500 - Three Keydets (Mujezinovic, Thorpe and Gonsalves) are qualified for this final. All three really need to score to put the Keydets in good position, although two of the three wouldn't be bad.
12:30 - Men's Discus - Chad Lawson seemed very poised and confident during a brief dialogue I overheard Friday night at dinner...He's seeded third. Cody Davis is a sleeper in this event, and could score for the second time in the meet.
1 - Men's triple jump - In a jam-packed field, Terrance Green and Dada (pronounced "Day-Day") Titcombe will go for any points they can get...Titcombe should be able to post a scoring jump. He's got the fourth-longest effort in the BSC this outdoor season, but has been somewhat limited in practice.
Also today is the men's 800, featuring the Kitur/Josh Morgan duel, and the men's 5K, where Sagar, Satterwhite, and the rest will look to score as many points as possible. Speaking of the 800, people in the press box have commented how good Felix looked yesterday. My colleague, Paul Carmany of Liberty, even said that was the best he'd seen Felix look since the 1:46.75 at the 2008 East Regionals. Carmany's seen Kitur run several times, at both indoors and outdoors, so his opinion is certainly a valid one.
Kitur's apparently stated a goal time for today's race, one which I will not state here, but it'll be interesting to see if he can hit it.
On the women's side, look for the 5K to be interesting. Hannah Granger makes her debut at the meet and will face a very strong field, including Lori Crotts of Radford and 10K winner Ashley Osborne of Liberty. That'll go off at 3:20.
10:55 a.m. - Just got back from a lengthy discussion with throws coach Zack Scott down on the hospitality floor...Got some nuggets for y'all out of that discussion -
He told me that Chad Lawson, who will throw the discus in the second flight at 12:30, seems to be relaxed and normally prepared. Anything can happen.
I also learned that first-year track athlete McCusker posted a PR, and Harris went at about 35 meters on her last throw in the women's discus. Second flight currently underway...Give me a few minutes, and I'll post some dialogue about big events to watch today, as we have 25 event finals over a six hour span (after just having 17 the last two days).
10:28 a.m. - Looks like I missed Harris and McCusker's final throws...My apologies.
10:19 a.m. - Second throws are done, with Harris, sure enough, improving decidedly. She recorded a 34.08 meter toss in her second try.
10:11 a.m. - First throws for Harris (28.16 M, 92'4") and McCusker (27.90, 91'6") are in the books...Aquisi should be able to improve on that...Kelsey's right at her seed mark. Binoculars are a wonderful thing :-)
10:03 a.m. - Athletes about to get underway in the women's discus...Harris and McCusker will throw in the middle of flight one. If I can pick up on any of their marks, I'll report them...Again, a reminder, live results are not expected to be updated today, but the link is in the day's first update if you, the reader, would like to see for yourself.
9:48 a.m. - With the early moments of today likely to be pretty slow, let's answer the question of what a team will go through at a track meet in terms of logistics...As the CSU contingent here in the press box debates the merits of Pepsi versus Mountain Dew (hey, it's a long three days).
Today, for example, is the simplest of days. The first wave of athletes left the hotel at 8:50. The van then, somehow, has to be transported back to the Hampton Inn for the second set of athletes at 10:45, with everyone else to follow on the bus at noon...That is, if the low tire on the bus is repaired in time. This doesn't even mention lunch, which has been brought by one of the assistant coaches each day thus far.
The other days are much more complicated, with the moving parts of trying to keep those who compete in early events out of the heat, making sure everyone stays hydrated, etc. Remember, this is a huge factor not just because of health reasons, but also because almost everyone comes back to compete in multiple events. Too much heat = not enough points. Anyway, all of this is to say that a coach not only has to coordinate teaching his athletes, but also must manage these moving parts successfully to keep the "machine" moving. It's not easy!
9:18 a.m. - We're situated high above the track for the third straight day, getting ready for the final day of action here at the 2010 Championships. Yesterday was long, but today is set to be quick, one event right after the other. Points will be accumulated on top of points, and the battle will be for second place on the men's side. Coastal Carolina, VMI, Charleston Southern, High Point and Radford all could earn the position, with the crucial events for the Keydets being the 5K and the 1,500.
By way of some housekeeping, we had a video posted last night of Kate Collins setting a new VMI record in the pole vault. That can be viewed on the video page. Also, we do not expect the live results link to work today. What the timer has been doing is updating things here with a link that says live results, but he's only been doing so at the end of each day. Not a good thing, but nothing we can do.
Our first event today is the women's discus, set for a 10 a.m. start. I'll do what I can to report, but as a reminder, that event is obscured and is (obviously) difficult to see.
