Clemson Track & Field Athletes Record High Marks at Home and at Penn State on Friday

Jan. 28, 2011

JRF Combined Events Invitational Day One Results

CLEMSON, SC – Miller Moss established personal bests in three out of four events Friday and leads the heptathlon with 3,295 points heading into the final day at the JRF Combined Events Invitational. Moss, a 2010 All-American in the event, is looking for his third heptathlon crown in four years in this very meet.

Moss had personal bests in the 60m dash and long jump to start Friday’s heptathlon. The Sumter, SC native clocked a 6.93 in the 60, best among the field of 14 participants. He then proceeded to the long jump, where he hit a distance of 23’11.75″ for another personal best. In the shot put, he was solid with a mark of 43’8.5″.

Moss finished the day in exciting fashion. He cleared a personal best 6’7″ in the high jump, best among the field yet again. Moss cleared the height on his first attempt, sparking quite the celebration from the 6-foor-4 senior. Moss will finish the heptathlon on Saturday. Automatic NCAA qualifying for the event is 5,675 points. Moss established a Clemson heptathlon record last season with 5,699 points at the ACC Indoor Championships.

“I’ve been making progress in practice,” Moss said. “Sometimes, you have days like today. I came out and was feeling good, so I tried to stay relaxed and have fun.”

Spencer Adams was outstanding in the final of the men’s 60m hurdles Friday. The Charlotte, NC native and two-sport athlete produced a season-best time of 7.83, just off his personal best for the event. He won the event with a top-10 time nationally.

Danielle Curry won the women’s shot put with ease on Friday. The transfer from Youngstown State hit a mark of 49’5″, a personal indoor best for the red-shirt junior. Curry’s mark puts her third on Clemson’s all-time performance list for the shot put, behind only former All-Americans Jamine Moton and Nikki Sims.

Sonni Austin, a sophomore from the Atlanta area, placed fourth in the 400m dash after clocking a time of 56.50.

Clemson won the men’s and women’s 800 meter runs on Friday. Alyssa Kulik took home the women’s title with a time of 2:17.71. Freshman Alyssa Henshaw was third with a time of 2:18.39. On the men’s side, the Tigers took the top two positions with senior Chris Slate winning after crossing the line in 1:52.55 and Jasen Turnbull close behind at 1:52.68.

Michael Kopanski was runner-up in the men’s pole vault. The freshman cleared the bar at 15’9″. In the men’s shot put, Cory Thalheimer recorded a personal best with a mark of 53’0″. He was fifth place against a strong field of throwers.

The JRF Combined Events Invitational will conclude Saturday. The heptathlon will resume at 12:00 PM, as will the field events. Track action is slated for a 1:00 PM start.

Several Clemson track & field standouts competed at the Penn State National Invitational on Friday as well. Clemson athletes produced personal bests almost across the board, particularly in the men’s sprints.

Ronald Richards. Warren Fraser, a sophomore, was fifth in the final after also producing a personal best (6.71).

Jasmine Edgerson clocked a personal best in the 60m hurdle prelims on Friday. The sophomore from Marietta, GA ran an 8.29 and won her heat. It was the fourth-best time in school history for the event and one of the top times in the nation according to the TFRRS performance list. Also in the hurdles, freshman Bridgette Owens ran a personal best 8.37 in the semifinals and was 10th overall. Owens’ time now ranks fifth in school history, just behind teammate Edgerson on the school’s performance list.

Edgerson was the team’s top performer in the women’s 60 with a time of 7.46 in the prelims, but she was pulled in the semifinals. Misha Morris ran a 7.54 in the 60 semifinals but did not advance to the final.

Whitney Fountain and Karine Farias participated in the pentathlon at Penn State, but the freshman Fountain withdrew after the long jump. Farias finished third with a total of 3,727 points, a personal collegiate best for the sophomore from Brazil.

It was a tough day in the long jump for a pair of Tigers. All-American April Sinkler fouled on three attempts, while sophomore Jasmine Brunson was 11th overall with a jump of 19’0.5″. Sinkler will compete on Saturday in the high jump.

Action concludes Saturday at Penn State, with Clemson scheduled to compete in the men’s and women’s 200m, 400m and 4x400m relays.