Saturday, May 16, 2009

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Racing in its home city, Jacksonville piled up a record 212 points en route to capturing a fourth straight Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday from UNF’s Hodges Stadium.

Dolphin senior Natasha Harvey earned Most Valuable Performer as she put in another first-place showing in the 100-meter hurdles, with record-setting time of 13.38 seconds. She broke the record of Dolphin alumni Safiya Davy (13.64 in 2003). Her win in the hurdles, coupled with her win on Friday in the long jump made Harvey the first A-Sun athlete to win four consecutive titles in two different events.

Her run of golds on Saturday included victories in the 100-meter dash and the triple jump. In the sprint, Harvey clocked in at 11.45 seconds, while at the triple jump leap of 12.31m bested the field. She also landed in second in the 200m. Teammate Louise Kiernan finshed just behind Harvey in the 100m and added a third-place finish in the 200. Regional qualifier Unique Singleton finished first in the 400-meter dash in a time of 54.34 seconds.

Susanne Klungtveit added to the green and gold victory count with a win in the steeplechase setting a time of 11:36.00. JU's Tiffany Bromfield and Outstanding Freshman Performer Stacey Young dominated the heptathlon taking home the gold and silver. Young finished second in 100- and 400-meter hurdle events. Head coach Ron Grigg added his fourth Coach of the Year accolade to Jacksonville's hardware collection.

The Dolphins blasted through the 4x100 relay with the team of Danielle Davenport, Kiernan, Singleton and Harvey breaking an eight-year old conference record with a time of 44.82. The 2001 Jacksonville squad of Andrea Pressley, Monique Tubbs, Tiffany Wright and Safiya Davy set the record at 45.16 seconds.

Most Outstanding Track Performer Heidi Dahl set a conference record in the 1500- and 800-meter runs. Her time in the 1500 of 4:18.08, shattered the time of 4:30.12, set in 2004 by Campbell's Alicia Valtin. Dahl also set a conference record in the 800 running a 2:08.99, knocking off Samford's Shana Ely's time of 2:11.53. Dahl set regional times in both events as well. The senior closed out her A-Sun Championship by running the opening leg of the Buccaneers' victories 4x400 meter relay team.

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.

Team Scores
1. Jacksonville - 212
2. Kennesaw State - 140
3. UNF - 90
4. ETSU - 78
5. Campbell - 62
6. USC Upstate - 37
7. Lipscomb - 16
8. Belmont - 12