Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Six Newberry College track and field records were broken over the weekend during two separate events: On Thursday, some of the Wolves competed in the Champion Challenge in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, while others on the team competed at the Division II Indoor Track and Field Pre-Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday and Saturday.
In the Champion Challenge, freshman Steven Phan (Little River) set a record for Newberry men with a 4.1 meter pole-vault, nearly 13.5 feet over the bar to finish second in the event. Another Wolves’ record that fell in Winston-Salem was thanks to Janiyah Gardner (Hepzibah, Ga.), whose 10.97-meter triple jump gave her a third-place result at the meet.
“Proud of how the team continues to improve and grow,” said Jimmy Stephens, director of track and field/cross country. “It is a process and the program and student-athletes are headed in the right direction.”
Among the Wolves competing in Virginia Beach, Jase Hunter’s (McDonough, Ga.) 17.41-meter weight throw set a new benchmark for Newberry, while earning him another first-place finish this season. Hunter’s weight-throwing teammate Parker Pitts (Prosperity) was close behind, finishing second overall in the category with a 17.27-meter weight throw.
Along with Jon Williams (Columbia), who had a 15.04-meter throw, the Wolves still hold the top-three spots on the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Performance List for the men’s weight throw.
“This meet was all about attention to detail for us. We spent all week getting back into our flow after having a week off from competing,” said Head Coach Mashario Morton. “I am extremely proud of our athletes and how they continue to grind day in and day out. We know what we are working for and that’s what we are focused on.”
Also topping the Newberry record books at the DII Pre-Nationals were Sarah Abumere (Waynesboro, Ga.) and Emma Johnson (Clover). Johnson, a senior, ran the 60-meter hurdles in 9.13 seconds, beating two-thirds of the competition in Virginia Beach. Abumere broke two school records – the 60- and 200-meter dash marks. She ran the former in 7.71 seconds and the latter in 25.04 seconds for a top-10 result.
Abumere jumped into the No. 4 spot on both the 60- and 200-meter charts on the SAC Indoor Track and Field Performance List after her performances this weekend.