Men finish third while women take sixth place in two-day meet
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A total of four school records and six first-place finishes were recorded by the VMI men's and women's outdoor track and field teams earlier on Saturday in the second and final day of the Cape Fear Classic hosted by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The men's team finished third out of eight teams with 131.50 points while the women's team took sixth out of eight spots with 53 points.Of note in the second day of the meet was the addition of a ninth school as The Citadel joined both the men's and women's fields of competition.
Three of the four school records came from the women's team with freshman Ashley West (Miami, Fla./Northwestern) setting a pair of them. West placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a school record time of 15.06 seconds. West also set a new school standard with a seventh-place finish at 36' 5-1/2" in the triple jump in what was her first-ever collegiate competition in the event. Freshman Ania Najda (Olsztyn, Poland/University of Warmia and Mazury) set a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a winning time of 11:21.36. That was one of two events that the women's team won on the day with senior Mildred Cooper (Gretna, Va./Gretna) providing the other in the shot put at 44' 7".
Junior Chris Brandriff (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) established a new school record in the javelin with a throw of 197' 11", good for second place in what was the only school record set by the men's team on the day. Furthermore, Brandriff's performance was a personal best which surpassed his previous personal best by over 21'.
In addition to Brandriff's school record, the men's team was highlighted by four first-place finishes. Junior Garrett Brickner (Fairfax, Va./Lake Braddock) won the high jump at 6' 11" while freshman Donnie Mikels (Rustburg, Va./Rustburg) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9:27.70 seconds. Senior Austin Wakefield (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest) won the discus with a mark of 48.17 meters (158.03'). The other event won by the Keydet men was the 4x1,500-meter relay, a team composed of sophomore Anthony Harris (Orlando, Fla./Cypress Creek), freshman Matt Bierlein (Orlean, Va./Fauquier), freshman Kurt Able (Wesley Chapel. Fla./Wesley Chapel), and sophomore Graham Forbes (Richmond, Va./Collegiate). The quartet posted a winning time of 16:41.64.
Other results on the men's side included senior J.B. Rosson (Keezletown, Va./Spotswood) taking second in the pole vault at 14' 9" and senior Kamau Hull (Athens, Ga./Cedar Shoals) placing eighth in the high jump at 6' 3". The 4x100-meter relay team of junior Derek Behney (Bethel, Pa./Tulpehocken), junior Jeff Bennett (Danville, Va./GW-Danville), Hull, and junior Tim Greer (Annandale, Va./Annandale) placed third at 44.73 seconds. The Keydets also got a second-place finish from the 4x800-meter relay team of sophomore Mark Bush (Bristol, Tenn./Tennessee), freshman Ben Switzer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge Co.), Bierlein, and Harris who posted a time of 7:54.49.
Rounding out the men's performances were two competitors who placed in the javelin. Senior Ty Denby (Scottsville, Va./Fluvanna Co.) placed sixth at 157' 3" while junior Philip Hahn (Ford City, Va./Ford City) placed eighth at 154' 4".
VMI will next compete at the Liberty Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2 in Lynchburg, Va.
*NOTE: VMI junior Derek Behney (Bethel Pa./Tulpehocken) competed at the Seahawk Invitational that was also held at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington last Friday, March 18. There, Behney ran a pair of personal best times with those coming in the 200-meter dash at 22.07 seconds and the 400-meter dash at 48.88.