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 Andrew Benford of Richmond was tabbed the Men's Track Performer of the Year |
May 3, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers made it a clean sweep of the team titles as the 49er women took over in the early morning finals and never looked back, while the Niner men turned in a sensational performance to sweep the 2009 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Charlotte's women picked up their fourth title in a row and have won every track and field team championship since joining the conference in 2006. With the win, the Niner women matched conference record for consecutive team titles with Rhode Island (2002-05).
On the men's side, the victory for Charlotte was its second in four tries.
Charlotte also swept the 2009 Indoor Championships.
"I think we really reasserted ourselves this weekend. We turned in a number of just incredible performances and I couldn't be more pleased. Some might think that winning may become repetitious, but each one has its own identity and this one is really special," said Charlotte head coach Bob Olesen, who was named the Men's and Women's Coach of the Year.
Outside of the team crowns, day two saw even more conference meet records fall with the 4x100 meter relay getting things kicked off as both marks were snapped.
In the women's race, Charlotte broke its own conference record in the event with a time of 44.94 seconds. The regional qualifying time eclipsed the old standard set by the Niners in 2007.
Immediately after the 4x100 meter women's record fell, the Charlotte men's squad took down the former record, held by Rhode Island since 2007, with a 40.57 second finish.
Keeping things in the sprint events, Charlotte's Sunita Brathwaite took down the 100 meter hurdles mark with a 13.52 second performance. Brathwaite's time eclipsed the old mark of 13.72 seconds held by Michelle Trefz (1998) of Rhode Island.
Charlotte senior sprinter made it a championship to remember as the Niner speedster set new conference meet records in the 100 meter and 200 meter dash events. Currie's 11.44 second finish eclipsed the old mark of 11.52 set by fellow 49er Courtney Patterson in 2006. In the 200 meter dash, Currie topped the old record of 23.69 set by Niner All-American Shareese Woods with a 23.46 second finish. Both times were regional qualifying performances.
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The final meet record of the day to fall came when 49er sprinter Darius Law set the meet record with a 46.60 second finish, topping the old mark of 47.23 seconds set by Saint Joseph's Doug Rick.
Sprint finals owned the majority of the day as Charlotte used the events to catapult into the women's lead, while allowing the men to expand their day one advantage.
Saint Joseph's Bobby Staten was victorious in the 100 meter dash with a regional qualifying time of 10.45, edging out Charlotte's Sam Jordan in the event.
Staten would then follow up his 100 meter performance with a second place finish in the 200 meter dash behind Charlotte's Darius Law. Both Law (20.70) and Staten (21.15) hit regional qualifying marks in the event.
Turning to the women's distance events, Charlotte's Aja Jackson turned in the daily double with a pair of victories in the 800 meter and 1500 meter runs. Jackson hit a regional qualifying time in the event with a 4:27.72 time.
La Salle's Christa Plummer turned in the weekend double with a victory in the 5,000 meter run on the final day with a time of 16:46.37, which was good enough to qualifying for the regional championships.
In the field, Xavier's April Phillips was victorious in the shot put with a 47'4 ½" attempt, which was good enough to qualify Phillips for the regional championships.
Finally, Rhode Island's Shayna Daughtery was the winner of the women's decathlon with a regional qualifying score of 5,118 points.
Charlotte wrapped up the team title with 174 points on the women's side. Dayton came home with a runner-up trophy with 116.5 points, while Rhode Island finished third with 109.5 points. Rounding out the top five were Temple with 88 points and Richmond with 84.5 points.
On the men's side, the 49ers were victorious with 217.5 points. In second place, Rhode Island scored 130 points with Temple finishing third with 127 points. Rounding out the top five were Richmond with 83 points and Saint Joseph's with 67 points.
The All-Conference performers are comprised of the top two finishers in each event.
Atlantic 10 Award Winners
Men's Coach of the Year: Bob Olesen, Charlotte
Women's Coach of the Year: Bob Olesen, Charlotte
Men's Track Performer of the Year: Andrew Benford, Richmond
Women's Track Co-Performers of the Year: Aja Jackson, Charlotte/Christa Plummer, La Salle
Men's Field Performer of the Year: Jason Roberts, Charlotte
Women's Field Performer of the Year: Shayna Daugherty, URI
Women's Most Outstanding Rookie: Kalen Sheehen, URI
Men's Most Outstanding Rookie: Isaac McReynolds, Charlotte
