Monteleone, Jalovy highlight ETSUâ€™s big start at the Niswonger Invitational

Coach Watts shares his thoughts on opening day.

Monteleone, Jalovy highlight ETSU’s big start at the Niswonger Invitational

Friday, January 18, 2013

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ETSU lands a pair of victories, several PR’s and multiple Saturday finals qualifiers

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 18, 2013) – The 35th annual Niswonger Invitational/KTA High School Invitational began Friday morning inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center, and bore witness to ETSU women’s senior jumper Kelly Monteleone (Pittsburgh, Pa.) winning the triple jump and men’s distance runner Filip Jalovy (Modrice, Czech Republic) winning the 800m.

A quintet of women’s jumpers shined in the triple jump, but it was Monteleone who took gold with a personal-best distance of 12.22m. Junior Lexie Burley (Johnson City, Tenn.) marked the same distance on her third jump to take silver, but Monteleone’s mark came on her second attempt to win the event. Junior Scotti Sampair (Forest Lake, Minn.) was fourth with a collegiate-best distance of 11.75m, while Bethany Lender (Altoona, Pa.) made the final to finish ninth. Freshman Sammie Dunlay (Chattanooga, Tenn.) set a personal mark as well, coming in at 10.14m.

“This was my first collegiate win, and all of my jumps were better than my previous best,” said Monteleone, whose previous PR in the triple jump was 11.97m. “It was nice to get the win with all my teammates and friends watching, and I hope I can pull through with another big jump at the conference meet.”

Another top women’s performance came from freshman Kristin Chapman (LaFollette, Tenn.) in the high jump. The three-time TSSAA State Champion cleared a height of 1.68m, improving on her season-best of 1.65m, which she cleared last weekend at the UAB Blazer Invite.

On the men’s side, it was Jalovy who took the best finish of the day. The Czech sophomore fought through the home stretch of the 800m to win by .02 with a time of 1:54.66 over Atlanta Track Club’s Zaven O’Bryant. Freshman Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia) took a top 10 in the event, placing seventh at 1:57.02.

“I felt really good today,” commented Jalovy, who was all-conference in cross country this year, and led the ETSU men’s team at the NCAA Regional. “For it being my first race of the year, my goal was definitely to win, but not to necessarily compete against my best time. I’m happy with the win and am proud to have been part of this meet.”

Qualifying in the top spot for Satuday’s 60m dash was sprinter Ifrish Alberg (Parimaribo, Suriname). The 2012 A-Sun 60m Dash Indoor Champion ran a 6.82 in the preliminaries to earn the No. 1 qualifying mark. Newcomer Rashad Campbell (Henderson, N.C.) – a transfer from Campbell University – will join Alberg in the 60m finals, qualifying No. 11 on Friday with a time of 7.01. Alberg will run in the top heat, while Campbell will run in heat two.

Also qualifying in a top spot for a Saturday final was senior Tim O’Dell (Palm Coast, Fla.). O’Dell – the third place finisher in the 400m at last year’s Niswonger, and the 2012 A-Sun Indoor and Outdoor 400m Champion – clocked in at 49.50 to earn the No. 1 qualifying mark.

The women’s qualifiers for finals on Satuday were Nicole Alexander (Rock Hill, S.C.), Karissa Bertling (New Port Richey, Fla.), Courtney Kinlaw (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Keturah Williams (Alpharetta, Ga.). Alexander timed a 9.23 in the 60m hurdles to make the final, while Bertling clocked a 58.63 in the 400m prelims to qualify fifth for that final. Kinlaw and Wiliams each qualified in the 60m dash and 200m dash, with Kinlaw setting PR’s of 7.68 in the 60m and 25.10 in the 200m. Williams set a personal best in the 200m of 24.87.

“I thought we had a great start to the meet,” Director of ETSU Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts said. “There were some big PR’s and we had some great victories. I’m very proud of the teams, and I’m looking forward to what we are going to do tomorrow.”

Day two of the Niswonger Invitational picks up Saturday at its originally scheduled time of 8 a.m., with a second session of the men’s and women’s 5000m.

Notables

Men

Filip Jalovy – 800m – 1:54.66 – 1st Place

Jason Johnson – Triple Jump – 14.68m – 3rd Place

Graham Boone – Triple Jump – 14.25m (PR) – 5th Place

Angus Baldwin – 800m – 1:57.02 (PR) – 7th Place

Adam Chase – 5000m – 15:12.47 (PR) – 7th Place

Ifrish Alberg - 60m Prelims – 6.82 – Qualifies No. 1

Tim O’Dell – 400m Prelims – 49.50 – Qualifies No. 1

Rashad Campbell – 60m Prelims – 7.01 – Qualifies No. 11

Trey Johnson – 60mH Prelims – 8.84 (PR)

Michael Lockhart – 60m Prelims – 7.16 (PR)

Women

Kelly Monteleone – Triple Jump – 12.22m (PR) – 1st Place

Lexie Burley – Triple Jump – 12.22m – 2nd Place

Kristin Chapman – High Jump – 1.68m – 2nd Place

Scotti Sampair – Triple Jump – 11.75m (PR) – 4th Place

Ashley Kessler – Pole Vault – 3.35m (PR) – 5th Place

Melissa Peters – 800m – 2:17.50 (PR) – 8th Place

Bethany Lender – Triple Jump – 11.28m – 9th Place

Tyesha Jones – Weight Throw – 14.25m (PR) – 12th Place

Sammie Dunlay – Triple Jump – 10.14m (PR)

Nicole Alexander – 60mH Prelims – 9.23 – Qualifies No. 9

Karissa Bertling – 400m Prelims – 58.63 – Qualifies No. 5

Courtney Kinlaw – 60m Prelims – 7.68 (PR) – Qualifies No. 4; 200m Prelims – 25.10 (PR) – Qualifies No. 6

Keturah Williams – 60m Prelims – 7.74 – Qualifies No. 7; 200m Prelims – 24.87 (PR) – Qualifies No. 3

Ashley Pease – Shot Put – 8.21m (PR)

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For more information on ETSU men’s and women’s track & field, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.