Wednesday, April 28, 2010

MACON, Ga. –. USC Upstate’s Michael Meissner earned Atlantic Sun Track Athlete of the Week honors by posting the conference’s second-best time in the 400- meter dash Saturday, while Campbell’s Diego Lawrence picked up the Field Athlete of the Week award with another solid long jump.

Meissner raced to a first-place finish in the 400m dash Saturday at the USC Upstate Invitational. The Cottage Grove, Minn. native recorded a time of 49.14 to set a new program-record. Meissner finished ahead of a trio of sprinters from Campbell as well as one from ETSU. His time of 49.14 stands as the second-fastest time in the A-Sun during the 2010 outdoor season. As the rains began to increase on Saturday afternoon, Meissner, along with Cameron Thomas, David Dennison and Danny Moore, raced to victory in the 4x400 relay. Even though the quartet battled the elements, they stood just one-second off of their school-record time from the Duke Invitational. Meissner also competed in the 200-meter dash at Saturday’s meet.

Lawrence took his second long jump win of the outdoor season at the USC Upstate Invitational. The Waxaw, N.C. native also helped Campbell to a win in the men’s 4x100 meter relay while setting a school record with a time of 41.11. Lawrence notched a jump of 6.99 meters in the long jump to take the win. The freshman also finished sixth in the men’s 200 meters with a personal record time of 21.97, and finished eighth in the 100 meter dash with a mark of 11.06. Lawrence ranks fourth in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region and first in the A-Sun with his personal best 7.42 meter jump. Earlier this season, the pharmacy major became the first Campbell freshman to earn A-Sun Athlete of the Week honors.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University

Other Top Performers
Eric Chapman, USC Upstate (Jr. - Throws - Cowpens, S.C. - Fitness and Recreation) – Chapman competed in three events at the USC Upstate Invitational and finished no worse than sixth. The junior finished fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 146-05.00/44.63m and finished nearly two meters ahead of Campbell’s George Sharrar. Chapman finished sixth in both the shot put and the discus throw. In the discus throw, the junior recorded a mark of 121-03.00/36.97m and followed that with a mark of 35-03.75/10.76m in the shot put.

Manny Gonzalez, ETSU (Jr. - Middle Distance - Maryville, Tenn. - Biology) – Gonzalez stood as one of four ETSU student athletes to win gold this past weekend at the USC Upstate Invite in Spartanburg, S.C. The junior led the charge on the track for the Bucs, as he took home the top time in the 3000m (8:58.46), while finishing second in the 800m after clocking in at 1:55.50. In the 3000m, Gonzalez beat out two runners from Campbell and a competitor from USC Upstate in the eight-man field. In the 800m, the Maryville, Tenn. native beat out three competitors from Campbell and two Spartan athletes in the 15-man field.

Harold Sims, Campbell (Sr. - Hurdles - Oxford, N.C. - Biological Science) – Sims registered his third consecutive win in the men’s 400 meter hurdles on Saturday at the USC Upstate Invitational, while taking a top-three finish in the 110 meter hurdle contest. Sims has finished no lower than third in the 400 meter hurdles this outdoor season for Campbell. Sims’ season-best time of 51.26 in the 400 meter hurdles ranks him 38th nationally, fourth in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region and first in the Atlantic Sun. The Oxford, N.C. native also owns the league’s fifth best time of the outdoor season in the men’s 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.68.

Cornell Sneed, ETSU (So. - Discus - Miami, Fla. - Criminal Justice) – For the second time this season, Sneed won an individual title in the discus. The sophomore thrower, who set the ETSU record in the event last week and leads the conference with that mark, beat out a field of 15 throwers – including one competitor from USC Upstate and a pair of throwers from Charlotte, with his heave of 44.34m Saturday afternoon at the USC Upstate Invite.