Ronoh splashes his way to steeplechase title, Ingram blazes to 400 win in Lynchburg

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Ben Ronoh

Sunday, April 03, 2011

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 3, 2011) - For the second time this outdoor season, Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya) topped the list of ETSU athletes in the final standings as he took first place in the steeplechase at the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg, Va., while Jasmine Ingram (Frederick, Md.) flew past the competition in the 400-meter dash.

Ronoh, who won the steeplechase in March at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, clocked in at 9:48.77, about eight seconds ahead of Marietta's Terrance Wallace. Ronoh also took second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:07.51. Joining the Kenyan among the top distance performers, Sean Duffy (Jonesborough, Tenn.) took sixth in the steeplechase at 10:16.63 and eighth in the 5,000 at 16:01.33.

After a conference-best mark in the 100-meter dash at the 49er Classic, Ifrish Alberg (Paramaribo, Suriname) was as good as advertised in Lynchburg, posting another top-ten A-Sun time to win the 100 in 10.80. Mike James (Palm Bay, Fla.) finished third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.98, a top-ten conference time, while both Tim O'Dell (Palm Coast, Fla.) and Desmond Pierce (Morristown, Tenn.) placed eighth in their respective events. O'Dell ran 49.23 in the 400-meter while Pierce finished the 800-meter in 1:57.71.
Alberg and James teamed up with Quentin Greenlee (Morristown, Tenn.) and Robert Purcell (Raeford, N.C.) in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing third in 42.06.

Two athletes posted promising marks and one new record in the men's field events, as Matt Baum (Middletown, Md.) shattered his old school and conference javelin mark by a whole ten feet, taking third with a throw of 178-11 (54.54m). Jason Johnson (Springfield, Pa.) finally posted a legal mark in the triple jump, a fifth-place leap of 44-05.25 (13.54m).

On the women's side, while Ingram's winning time of 55.12 in the 400 - her second A-Sun top-five time of the season - topped the heap, Hannah Bowers (Jonesborough, Tenn.) finished sixth in 57.37. In the 100-meter dash, Emani Harrison (Columbia, S.C.) one-upped last week's finish in her hometown, taking sixth at Liberty in 12.62. Pooling their assets, the trio of Ingram, Bowers and Harrison joined Emma Bowers (Jonesborough, Tenn.) for a runner-up showing in the 4x100-meter relay, carding a time of 47.31.

In distance, Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W. Va.) ran a respectable 1,500-meter time, finishing seventh in 4:56.62.

Buccaneer women's athletes scored in both horizontal events, as Bethany Lender (Altonna, Pa.) leapt above and beyond in the triple jump for a fourth-place 38-04.00 (11.68m) and Lexie Burley (Johnson City, Tenn.) made it into the top ten at 36-03.00 (11.05m). Among a three-way tie for eighth in the long jump, Kelly Monteleone (Verona, Pa.) leapt 16-08.00 (5.08m).

Like the men's team, two women's athletes featured in the field strength events, as Jasmine Foster's (Johnson City, Tenn.) 42-11.50 (13.09m) effort in the shot put landed her in fourth place and Lili Allison (Oxford, Ala.) heaved a 155-11.00 (47.53m) hammer throw, good for eighth in the finals.

Assistant Coach Eli Sunquist said the Bucs need the week off before conference, as the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville were rescheduled to the same week as the A-Sun Championships in Jacksonville, Fla. "Everything is in place to have a great conference meet," said Sunquist, "we just need to execute when it comes time to step up to the line."

Sunquist also said the Bucs look forward to the warm weather at the early conference meet, which happens April 14 and 15. In overall points, ETSU sits in second place, comfortably ahead of Campbell by 102, behind A-Sun frontrunner Kennesaw State by 41.