Friday, February 17, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (February 17, 2006) - Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield, Ohio) nabbed her second-consecutive indoor conference high jump title, as the ETSU women's track and field team concluded the first day competition at the inaugural Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships, Friday in Memorial Center.  ETSU is currently in the middle of the pack in the team standings with 14 points after six events, good for fifth place overall.  Jacksonville is running away with the team race, tallying 61 points in day one.  Kennesaw State is in second place with 32.66 points.

Ricciardi bested the high jump field by nearly five inches, clearing 5-7 ¾ (1.72m) for the win.  Ricciardi made three attempts at 5-10.5 (1.79), a height that would have placed her on the NCAA provisional list, but came up short.

Ricciardi earned another chance at a medal, qualifying for Saturday's 60-meter hurdle final by clocking 9.41 in the prelims.

The Bucs got a pair of scoring performances in the long jump, with Tashauna Robinson (Trelowny, Jamaica) and Ebonie Jones (Richmond, Va.) finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.  Robinson recorded a leap of 17-6 (5.33m), while Jones rounded out the scoring with a mark of 17-4.25 (5.29m).

Sprinters Cagney Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) and Jenny Knox (Connelly Springs, N.C.) had solid races in the 60-meter prelims, running 7.72, and 7.75, respectively, to claim spots in tomorrow's final.

ETSU got its first scoring performance of the day from senior Jennifer Whittington (Richlands, Va.), who notched a six-place finish in the pentathlon with a career-best total of 2,582 points.  Teammate Allie Frazier (Knoxville, Tenn.) just missed scoring in her first-ever appearance in the multi-event competition, placing seventh overall with 2,061 points.  The freshman outshined the field in the 800-meters, winning the race in 2:32.05, almost three second ahead of the next-best finisher in the pentathlon's final event.

The women's events get underway at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, with the women's 20-lb weight throw leading off the schedule.