Men's Track & Field 1/24/2021 12:34:00 PM

Tigers Test Their Moxie Against Top Tier Teams; Set Personal Best Records

2021 CAROLINA CHALLENGE | FULL RESULTS

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Savannah State men's and women's indoor track & field teams faced the top echelon of competition within their sport on Saturday at the 2021 Carolina Challenge, hosted by the University of South Carolina.

Into his 22 year at Savannah State, Head Track & Field Coach Ted Whitaker continually pits his teams against the best competition he can seek out, pushing his sprinters and jumpers to compete at the highest level they can muster.

Even after Savannah State shifted to NCAA Division II last year, the track & field team has continued to compete against top NCAA Division I runners in the nation. At the Carolina Challenge on Saturday, the Tigers shared the track with several of the current top runners in Division I.

A couple of new Tigers set personal best records on Saturday. Freshman Teauna Thomas ran a personal best 7.98 in the preliminaries of the women's 60 meter dash. In the men's 60 meter dash prelims, freshman Tracy White ran a personal best 7.10 to finish in 14th place.

Returner Jahvene Walder led the Lady Tigers in several events. In the 60 meter hurdles, she ran a 9.36 in the prelims trailing Auburn by six tenths of a second. In the high jump event, Walder tied in 9th place with South Carolina, Auburn and Mississippi State with a 1.56m effort.

Elsewhere on the track, other Savannah State freshman finished strongly in several events. Da'Aliyah Johnson finished 16th in the women's 60 dash prelims with a time of 8.24. Ravyn Cystrunk ran a 26.47 in the 200 meter dash while Artexis Drake finished 11th in the 400m dash with a time of 1:01.55.

Johnson led the Lady Tigers in the long jump, finishing 9th with a 5.31 to tie with Auburn. Sadrea Mabry followed her teammate in the even with a 4.97m effort and Toni Pellington recorded a 4.63m jump. Johnson also led in the triple jump, finishing 6th with an 11.32m jump.

Returning long-distance runners Kayla Chance and Simone Johnson competed in the 800m dash and 1 mile run. Chance ran a 2:33.80 in the 800 and a 5.33.80 in the 1 mile while S. Johnson followed closely with a 2:34.14 in the 800 and a 5:49.12 in the 1 mile.

For the men, White led the Tigers on the track finishing 19th in the 200 meter dash with a 22.76 followed by teammates Jordan Davis (23.43) and Anthony Johnson (23.44). Davis and A. Johnson trailed White in the 60m prelims as well, running a 7.17 and 7.23 respectively.

Returning sprinter Andre Valcin finished 15th in the 400m dash with a time of 50.34. Returning long distance runner Djangmah Nartmartey finished 17th in the 800m with a time of 1:59.45 followed by newcomer Cameron McClendon who ran a 2:15.27. McClendon ran a 5:09.39 in the 1 mile run, as well.

Sophomore Darryl Wiltz finished 9th in the 60 meter hurdles prelims with an 8.43, missing qualification by five tenths of a second to the University of Georgia.

In the long jump, Solomon Mitchell led the Tigers with a 14th place finish and a 6.43m effort. Nicholas Briddy recorded an 11.10m throw in the shot put for an 8th place finish and an 10.56m toss in the weight throw for a 9th place finish.

Savannah State indoor track & field will conclude the short spring schedule on Feb. 13 at the USC Open in Columbia. They open the outdoor season on Feb. 27 with the Savannah State Eyeopener at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Nicholas Briddy: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Jordan Davis: 5' 9"; Freshman

Anthony Johnson: 5' 7"; Freshman

Solomon Mitchell: 5' 9"; Freshman

Andre Valcin: 6' 0"; Junior

Tracy White: 5' 7"; Freshman

Darryl Wiltz: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Kayla Chance: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Ravyn Cystrunk: 5' 6"; Freshman

Artexis Drake: 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Nicholas Briddy
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Jordan Davis
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Anthony Johnson
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Solomon Mitchell
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Andre Valcin
: 6' 0"; Junior

Tracy White
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Darryl Wiltz
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Kayla Chance
: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Ravyn Cystrunk
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Artexis Drake
: 5' 8"; Freshman