Wednesday, March 25, 2009

MACON, Ga. - The Jacksonville Dolphins, three-time Outdoor Track & Field Champions, showed little signs of rust in the first outdoor meet with stellar performances. Sophomore J'Zotta Rolle set a regional qualifying mark in the 400-meter hurdles in her first try this season at the UNF Spring Break Open to earn the first Athlete of the Week award, the conference announced Wednesday.

This is the first weekly award for Rolle. Her regional qualifying time of 1:00.77 tops the A-Sun performance list for the 400m hurdles. She also placed first in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles after running a time of 14.31.

The Dolphins will be back in action on Thursday when they head to Tallahassee, Fla. for the FSU Relays.

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
Charisma Anderson, UNF (Sprints - Tallahassee, Fla. - Jr. - Education) -- Charisma Anderson was a star on the track, beat her own school record for her third-place 100-meter dash of 12.24s, taking third in the 200-meter dash and coming in fourth as part of a 4x400-meter relay team with Kayla Conrad, Evelyn Moore and SaLydia James.

Rachel Deline, Campbell (Distance - Belleville, Ontario - Fr. - Undecided) -- Freshman Rachel Deline legged out a 10:39.97 for ninth place finish in the 3000-meter race, the squad's lone top-10 qualifier of the day. In the 1500-meter race, Deline led the way again, finishing with a mark of 4:51.79, taking the third best time in her section and 23rd overall. Deline was just one of 42 in the competition’s 103 to finish with a time sub-5:00.00.

Mackenzie Howe, Kennesaw State (Distance - Watkinsville, Ga. - So. - Health & Exercise Science) -- Howe placed second in the 5000 at the Georgia Relays, crossing the line with a time of 17:32.46, to lead the conference in that event. Two weeks earlier, Howe looked impressive at UNF's Spring Break Classic, placing third in the same event with a time of 17:37.78.

Emily Tangwar, USC Upstate (Distance - El Doret, Kenya - So. - Nursing) -- Tangwar shattered the school record in the 1,500-meter run by nearly eight seconds, posting a second-place finish with a time of 4:40.06. Tangwar finished only behind Charlotte's Aja Jackson, a NCAA regional qualifier in the 800. Tangwar then came back the following day to post a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter dash with an impressive time of 2:17.75, also breaking a school record.