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Men's Track and Field VMIKeydets.com

Titcombe's Long Jump Leads VMI Men on Day One of BSC Championships

CLEMSON, S.C. – Ademola Titcombe posted the best indoor long jump in the Big South since 2005, en route to winning that event and leading the Keydets to a runner-up position after the first day of the 2010 Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Titcombe, competing in the first of two flights, leapt 7.24 meters (23'9”) on his fourth jump to easily win the event. That effort was the best long jump mark of his career, bettering his mark from last year's outdoor championships by .16 meters. 7.24 meters was nearly four-tenths of a meter better than Titcombe's previous indoor best, set at the first meet of his collegiate career in 2008, and the leap marks the third event qualifier (60-meters, triple jump) for him for this year's IC4A Championships. Finally, the mark was the best indoor effort in the Big South since December of 2005, when Augustus Scott of Charleston Southern jumped 7.25 meters (23'9 ¼”).

Thanks in large part to Titcombe's win, VMI currently sits in second place with 33 points. The Keydets are two points ahead of High Point (31), while Radford sits in fourth with 28 points. Charleston Southern currently has 18 markers, while Gardner-Webb (14), Winthrop (12) and UNC Asheville (6) round out the standings. Liberty leads the competition with 91 points.

VMI's other top score Saturday came from the distance medley relay squad, as the foursome of Felix Kitur, Dean Gonsalves, Kyle Fuller and Ian McGinn came home third in a IC4A qualifying time of 10.15.57. Fuller ran the 400-meter leg in 50.80 seconds, Gonsalves completed 1,200-meters in 3:10, Kitur's 800-meter time was 1:51.60 and McGinn traversed 1,600-meters in 4:21.

“I am very pleased with our efforts,” said VMI head coach Darrin Webb. “As expected, it appears to be a dog fight among 4-5 schools after leader Liberty. We had many great performances today, but the DMR and Titcombe's unbelievable performance in the long jump were the highlights.”

Meanwhile, Titcombe was not done Saturday, as Titcombe returned to action in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash. Both he and Nate Gant moved on to Sunday's final, as they crossed the stripe in 6.98 seconds and 7.00 seconds respectively.

Gant scored in the long jump as well, as the freshman notched his first career conference placing with a sixth-place effort on a jump of 6.80 meters (22'3 ¾”). The Keydets also got on the board in another jumping event, thanks to Dennis James' fourth-place finish in the high jump. James cleared 1.95 meters (6'4 ¾”) and bested the fifth-place finisher on misses.

In addition, Michael Munson posted a personal best to finish seventh in that event, as he leapt 1.90 meters (6'2 ¾”) to earn a pair of VMI's 33 points. He also currently sits fourth in the heptathlon, just 17 points behind teammate Antonio Wood. That event will conclude Sunday.

A pair of Keydets scored in the weight throw, including 2009 Big South event champion Chad Lawson. Lawson finished fifth in his best event, as he recorded a 17.72 meter (58'1 ¾”) toss. He was joined by Cody Davis, whose 16.35 meter (53'7 ¾”) heave earned him a seventh-place result.

Matt Satterwhite rounded out the Keydets who scored points on Saturday, as he finished eighth in the 3,000-meters. In one of the most crowded fields at the meet, Satterwhite completed the distance in 8:40.01, edging out a runner from High Point by just .16 hundredths of a second.

Two of VMI's standouts moved on to finals that will be contested Sunday, as Kitur and James Alexander were able to advance through preliminary rounds. Alexander will run the 200-meter final Sunday afternoon, after he won his heat with a time of 22.19 seconds. Kitur advanced through the 800-meter rounds with ease, running a time of 1:57.39 as he appeared to conserve energy late in the race.

VMI track and field will return to action Sunday, as the Keydets bid for their second consecutive runner-up finish at the Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships. Action is set to resume in Clemson, S.C. at 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

James Alexander

James Alexander

Sprints
Junior
Cody Davis

Cody Davis

Throws
Junior
Kyle Fuller

Kyle Fuller

Mid-Distance
Sophomore
Nate Gant

Nate Gant

Jumps/Sprints
Freshman
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Mid-Distance
Junior
Dennis James

Dennis James

High Jump
Junior
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Mid-Distance
Junior
Chad Lawson

Chad Lawson

Throws
Junior
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Mid-Distance
Freshman
Michael Munson

Michael Munson

Hurdles
Junior
Matt Satterwhite

Matt Satterwhite

Distance
Senior
Ademola Titcombe

Ademola Titcombe

Jumps/Sprints
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

James Alexander

James Alexander

Junior
Sprints
Cody Davis

Cody Davis

Junior
Throws
Kyle Fuller

Kyle Fuller

Sophomore
Mid-Distance
Nate Gant

Nate Gant

Freshman
Jumps/Sprints
Dean Gonsalves

Dean Gonsalves

Junior
Mid-Distance
Dennis James

Dennis James

Junior
High Jump
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Junior
Mid-Distance
Chad Lawson

Chad Lawson

Junior
Throws
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Freshman
Mid-Distance
Michael Munson

Michael Munson

Junior
Hurdles
Matt Satterwhite

Matt Satterwhite

Senior
Distance
Ademola Titcombe

Ademola Titcombe

Sophomore
Jumps/Sprints