TRACK: Mustangs Dominate Throws, Relays at UTA Invitational

[PonyPride]

Mustangs Dominate Throws, Relays at UTA Invitational
du Toit posts NCAA Regional marks; Pettigrew cruises in 800

March 29, 2009

ARLINGTON, Texas (SMU) - Freshman thrower Simone Du Toit won the discus and finished third in the shot, qualifying for the NCAA Regional Outdoor Championships in both events, and SMU won the 800-meter run and both sprint relays en route to a 110.75-point performance at the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational at Texas-Arlington's Maverick Stadium Saturday in Arlington.

du Toit launched throw of 49.99 meters on her last throw of the finals to win the discus. Teammate Christina Mueller threw 46.95 to earn fifth place, while Lauren Kuhner finished 11th (40.73) and Sara Siddens finished 26th (33.00).

In the shot put, du Toit placed third when she threw 14.45, while teammate Ayla Gill finished 13th with a throw of 12.40.

In the 800, senior Ilyssa Pettigrew ran away from the field, winning the event in 2:14.13. Teammates Kathleen Hoogland and Aasha Marietta finished in 2:32.60 and 2:34.89 to finish 41st and 46th, respectively.

SMU claimed two of the top five finishes in the 4x400-meter relay. The "A" team of Alexandria Smith, Pettigrew, Gayla Cloud and Amber Evans won the event in 3:43.85, while the "B" team of Lakeisha James, Ebony Cuington, Chelsea Wells and Nnenna Ejesieme finished fifth, in 3:55.50.

The Mustangs' other relay victory came in the 4x100, with Cloud, Smith, Evans and Cuington crossing the line first in 47.54.
In addition to the four events the Mustangs won, they also claimed a share of another first-place finish, as Viktoria Leks tied for first in the high jump when she cleared 1.70 meters (5 feet, 6.9 inches). Teammate Valerie Lindenmuth finished tied for seventh in the event with a leap of 1.55 meters (5-1).

Other top finishers include Gill and Kuhner, who finished second and third, respectively, in the hammer event held Friday at SMU. Gill threw a personal-best 54.80 meters, just edging out Kuhner, who threw 54.35

Three Mustangs turned in season-best performances in the 200-meter dash: Evans finished third, clocking a 24.54, while Cuington finished 13th, in 25.09, and Donisha Weightman finished 28th, in 26.28.

SMU earned three other top-10 finishes Saturday, including Gayla Cloud, who finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, in 14.79, and Jessa Simmons, who placed fifth in the 5,000-meter run, in 18:14.86.

Ejesieme placed sixth in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 59.45. James and Wells finished 11th and 18th, respectively, in 59.97 and 1:01.83.

Kathleen Hoogland placed 29th in the 1,500-meter run, clocking a 5:14.33.

The Mustangs return to action next week when they head to Austin for the Texas Relays, April 2-4.

Complete meet results can be seen at the following link: http://www.utamavs.com/livestats/m-track/index.htm

[Otto]

Sounds like a hell of a performance!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

This is fantastic news!

It's amazing the "B" 4x400 team is only 12 seconds off the "A" team. Amazing.

[WildHorse]

The job the SMU track coaches do every year is nothing short of remarkable.