Pirates Open Outdoor Season with Strong Showing At VCU Ram Invitational

Richmond, Va. – The Hampton University Men's Track and Field team opened its 2005 outdoor season with a solid showing at the Ram Invitational in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University. The Pirates turned in five top-three finishes, while also having great efforts in several other events. Senior Marvin Lewis led the Pirates' top individual performances by running a solid 48.59-second performance to finish first in the 400-meter dash, edging out teammate Andrew Peresta (48.77) for the top spot. Jacob Johnson's 49.14 gave Hampton three of the top four finishers in the event.

Other top three performances were turned in by Terry Thornton, Jonathan Cox and Hampton's 4x100 meter relay team. Thornton, who qualified for the 2004 NCAA Championships in the 110-meter hurdles, got off to another good start in the event with a second place time of 14.51, topping the 14.56 he turned in during the preliminaries.

Cox led three Pirates in the triple jump with a leap of 46 feet even to finish in third place, while Jonathan Robinson (42-06) and Kashiff Alexander (41-11.25) placed 10th and 11th respectively.

Hampton's 4x100 meter relay comprised of Jonathan Bailey, Terrance Burton, Aaron Keels and Terry Thornton, ran away with first place in their first showing as a relay team. Their 41.82 seconds was well ahead of Mount St. Mary's College (42.38) and Shippensburg University (42.48).

The Pirates return to the track this Thursday when they'll travel to compete in the Aggie Relays in Greensboro, North Carolina. Hosted by North Carolina A&T State University, the meet will run Thursday, March 24 through Saturday, March 25.