Wednesday, February 10, 2010

MACON, Ga. - Jacksonville’s Joane Pierre earned A-Sun Track Athlete of the Week with a win in the mile while USC Upstate’s Gabrielle Walker set a new standard for the Spartans in the long jump.

Pierre won the mile at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational with a school-record time of 4:57.65. She broke the mark set by fellow teammate Alyssa Deal, who ran a 4:59.75 last year at the A-Sun meet. Pierre finished the meet running a portion of the distance medley relay that posted a fifth-place time of 12:10.88.

Walker had a strong showing at Saturday’s Vince Brown Invitational. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native recorded two school records as well as a personal best. In the long jump, Walker recorded a school-record jump of 15-04.75 (4.69m) en route to a 22nd-place finish. In the weight throw, Walker had a personal best toss of 37-07.25 (11.47m) as she finished 15th. She also competed in the shot put on Saturday, where she finished 10th, with a mark of 35-11.25 (10.95m). Her other school record came in the 55-meter dash. She posted a school-record time of 7.36, second fastest in the preliminaries, to qualify for the finals. In the finals, Walker posted a mark of 7.37 en route to a fourth-place finish.

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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
Amanda Twigg, Lipscomb (Fr. - Middle Distance - Cumberland, Md.. - Education) – Twigg ran an all-time personal best for 800m of 2:16.79 and set a new indoor school record for Lipscomb. She finished 3rd overall, and second among collegians in a field of 34 800m competitors. Twigg also took over the top spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference 800m rankings.

Camille Masanotti, USC Upstate (Fr. - Sprints and Pole Vault - Ladson, S.C. - Psychology) – Masanotti set a new school-record while tying another on Saturday. In the 55-meter hurdles, Masanotti qualified for the finals after school-record time of 8.96. In the finals, she broke the school mark that she had just set with a time of 8.75 as she finished eighth in the event. In the pole vault, she tied her own school-record with a height of 10-04.00 (3.15m) en route to a fifth-place finish.