CHARLESTON, S.C. - Felix Kitur dominated the field to claim his third consecutive Big South Outdoor 800-meter title and led the Keydets to a fourth-place finish on the final day of the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Charleston Southern in Charleston, S.C.
Kitur's 1:49.62 time was a new Big South meet record, surpassing the record he set just the day before in preliminaries. It also was good enough for the win by more than three seconds, as the junior claimed his fifth career Big South Championship overall (two indoor, three outdoor) in his trademark event, and was an IC4A qualifier.
As a team, VMI finished in fourth place overall with 95.5 points. The Keydets trailed third-place Radford by just 4.5 markers, with Coastal Carolina finishing second (117.5 pts). High Point was fifth, as the Panthers finished in a tie with host Charleston Southern with 88 points. Gardner-Webb (55), Winthrop (50.5) and UNC Asheville (28.5) rounded out the field in a Championship that Liberty won (194 pts.).
"I'm very proud of all the athletes this weekend," said VMI head coach Darrin Webb. "Between our two teams, we posted over 70 seasonal or lifetime bests against some great competition. The men had a solid performance, with which I'm very pleased, because it could have swung either way when you look at the teams involved. We continued to work through the last event to get all the points and the highest finish possible. We also appreciate all the support we received throughout the weekend, including the presence in Charleston of VMI athletic director Donny White and his wife Bettie."
Late in the meet, a strong performance in the 4X400-meter relay was key. The unit of Jonathon Jackson (50.8), Kyle Fuller (49.8), Kitur (47.7) and James Alexander (48.2) finished second in that event, as Alexander was able to hold off Liberty down the home stretch to earn the team eight crucial points, on the strength of a 3:17.86 time.
That was not the only solid performance on the day for Alexander, as the junior finished second in the 200-meters as well. Favorite Javon Young (Charleston Southern) was disqualified before the race due to a false start, and two other runners pulled up with apparent injuries. Alexander survived the battle of attrition with a time of 21.52 to earn All-Big South laurels.
Another All-Big South honoree was Chad Lawson, who finished third in the discus throw earlier in the day. Lawson's toss of 47.53 meters (155'11") got him onto the podium in an event where the top six finishers were separated by under four meters. It was also an IC4A qualifier for the junior.
Around the same time as Lawson's results were announced, it was also learned that Ademola Titcombe had an all-conference result as well. The jumping specialist leapt 14.57 M (47'9 ¾") in the triple jump to finish third. Titcombe and Alexander had also been part of the 4X100-meter relay earlier in the day, a squad that finished fifth with a 41.82 result, as those two athletes teamed with Terrance Green and Austin Lewis.
Ian McGinn and Matt Satterwhite also had strong outings Saturday, as both notched points in the 5,000-meters. Both sprinted by multiple runners down the final straightaway, allowing McGinn (15:33.04) to finish fifth and Satterwhite (15:33.33) to place sixth.
VMI track and field will return to action Thursday, as selected Keydets travel to the Penn Relays, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.
