Moye and Hariston Lead VMI on Day One of Big South Championships

Women's Track and Field VMIKeydets.com

Moye, 4X800 Relay Pace Keydets at Hokie Invite

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Jenna Moye set her second school record of the young season, and the men's 4X800-meter relay team was victorious in their competition to lead the VMI track and field teams Friday at the Hokie Invitational, hosted by Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

The 4X800 squad, comprised of Andrey Dmitriev, Dean Gonsalves, Jacob Lysher and Felix Kitur, clocked in at 7:38.73, .70 seconds ahead of second-place Duke. The time was just under a second away from the VMI school record, which is one of the oldest in the Keydet books, as it was set in 1979. The effort was also VMI's third IC4A qualification of the season, joining Ademola Titcombe (triple jump) and Dennis James' (high jump) efforts at December's Northeastern Invitational.

On this night, Dmitriev did not get off to an ideal start, clocking in at 1:57.16 for the opening leg, but Gonsalves ran a solid 1:54.37 over his 800-meters to move the Keydets up to third. Lysher, competing in just his second collegiate event, ran a 1:55.12 to better his personal best, but VMI still sat fourth coming to the anchor leg, Kitur.

The senior responded, rebounding from a disappointing season opener to run a 1:52.10, a full 1.75 seconds faster than any other collegiate athlete competing. This allowed the Keydets to make up the needed time and prevail with relative ease.

Earlier in the day, Moye placed sixth in the 3,000-meters, running a new VMI record time of 10:02.66. The effort marks the second straight meet during which Moye has set a new Keydet record, as she also entered the books with the fastest mile in Keydet history last month in Boston, Mass. In a notable fact from Friday's proceedings, the VMI sophomore finished ahead of two of her expected Big South rivals, Hailey Neal and Dacia Bushman of Liberty, who placed 15th and 16th respectively.

“We came very close to the school record in the 4X800,” said VMI assistant coach Paul Spangler. “We'll take another shot at that at IC4A's, but for tonight, I'm very pleased with the relay and Jenna, and thought everyone did a great job.”

“I'm very happy with tonight's results,” said VMI's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Darrin Webb. “Jenna's performance in the 3K, with another school record, was outstanding, and I'm sure there are many more in her future. On the relay, I thought Andrey and Dean certainly did their jobs, and Felix ran a solid anchor, but I was particularly impressed with the performance of freshman Jacob Lysher. Though they did miss the school record by a fraction of a second, their main goal today was to qualify for the IC4A Championships, and they accomplished that task.”

Also competing for the Keydets were Jason Thorpe and Marshall Dalessandro, who took part in the men's mile. The pair went 1-2 in their heat, clocking in at 4:33.82 (Thorpe) and 4:35.80 (Dalessandro), respectively. Those times were good enough for 22nd and 23rd overall, while Ermin Mujezinovic was 28th in the 3K (8:48.09).

The majority of the VMI track and field teams will return to action January 28 and 29, competing at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg, Va., while the women's pole vault quartet is scheduled to travel to Reno, Nev. to take part in the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Jenna Moye

Jenna Moye

Distance
Sophomore
Marshall Dalessandro

Marshall Dalessandro

Mid-Distance
Junior
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Mid-Distance
Redshirt Freshman
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Mid-Distance
Senior
Dennis James

Dennis James

High Jump
Senior
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Mid-Distance
Senior
Jacob Lysher

Jacob Lysher

Mid-Distance
Freshman
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Distance
Senior
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Distance
Sophomore
Ademola Titcombe

Ademola Titcombe

Jumps/Sprints
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jenna Moye

Jenna Moye

Sophomore
Distance
Marshall Dalessandro

Marshall Dalessandro

Junior
Mid-Distance
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Redshirt Freshman
Mid-Distance
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Senior
Mid-Distance
Dennis James

Dennis James

Senior
High Jump
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Senior
Mid-Distance
Jacob Lysher

Jacob Lysher

Freshman
Mid-Distance
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Senior
Distance
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Sophomore
Distance
Ademola Titcombe

Ademola Titcombe

Junior
Jumps/Sprints