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UNCG to start outdoor season at UNCW Seahawk Invitational
UNCG at UNCW Seahawk Invitational, March 11-12, Wilmington, N.C., Harold Greene Track & Field Complex
Storylines:
- After a strong indoor track season, UNCG will looks to build upon its success as they open the outdoor track & field season at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Harold Greene Track & Field Complex.
- The meet will get under way on Friday at 11 a.m. and will wrap up with the 5,000 meter race at 5:30 p.m. Competition will resume on Saturday at 10 a.m. and the meet will end at 4 p.m. with the 4x400 meter relay.
- At the Southern Conference Indoor Championships two weekends ago, UNCG came away with a pair of league titles. Ashley Schnell became the first women's runner in school history to win a SoCon indoor crown as she earned top honors in the 3,000 meters after running a time of 9:52.39. Schnell also joined teammates Shaina Sumney, Shannon Hall and Kerry Hartman to win the SoCon title in the distance medley relay.
- Also at the SoCon Indoor Championships, the Spartans had a trio of runners who earned All-Freshman Team honors. Kenny Hinman led the group as he earned All-Freshman honors not only in the 3,000 meters, but in the 5,000 meters as well. Teammate Paul Katam joined Hinman on the All-Freshman Team honors in the 5,000 meters, while Kelly Montague was named to the All-Freshman Team in the mile.
- On Feb. 12 at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Ashley Schnell broke the school record in the 800 meters at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Her time of 2:19.07 was nearly three seconds better than the previous school record set in 2008. The women's distance medley relay team also set a new school record by nearly 12 seconds.
- Back on Feb. 5, Ashley Schnell was the lone Spartan to compete at the Meyo Invitational. At the meet, she set another school record as she broke the previous mark in the 3,000 meters by just under 10 seconds with a time of 9:39.73. Her time was good enough for seventh place in the seeded race at the prestigious event.
- For her efforts at the Meyo Invitational, Schnell was named the Southern Conference Co-Athlete of the Week for women's indoor track. She shared the award with College of Charleston's Dena O'Brien.
- UNCG also competed at the Niswonger Invitational, where a majority of the team competed. Joey Thompson had a nice showing at the meet as he was edged out in the 3,000 meter race to earn runner-up honors after running a 8:40.20.
- Paul Katam also had a nice showing on the men's side at the Niswonger as he finished in fourth place in the 5,000 meters. His time of 14:57.40 was the second-best time in school history in the event, just seven seconds off teammate Mike Koech's school record he set last season.
- Kerry Hartman and Shaina Sumney set the third- and fourth-best time in the 3,000 meters at the Niswonger for the women's team. Hartman finished in fourth place in a time of 10:13.07, while Sumney came in seventh place after completing the race in a time of 10:24.21.
- At the Liberty Open, Schnell shattered the previous school record in the mile. Schnell ran a time of 5:00.68 to claim first place in the event and beat Jess Weber's 2006 school record by over 13 seconds.
- Shaina Sumney also broke one of Weber's school records last weekend as she sent a new top mark in the 800 meters by winning the event. Her time of 2:20.60 bested Weber's time by 1.15 seconds that she set in 2008.
- The Spartan men also had a nice showing at the Liberty Open as the team came away with a 1-2 finish in the mile. Thompson edged out teammate Jermaine Coore by just three tenths of a second as they ran a 4:24.95 and a 4:25.22, respectively.
- UNCG -
