Clemson Wins ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship

February 22, 1999

CLEMSON MEN WIN THIRD-STRAIGHT ACC CHAMPIONSHIP The Clemson men’s track team won the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championship with 162 points Saturday in Blacksburg, setting a new school record for points scored at the indoor meet. The win was the Tigers’ third-straight and their seventh in the 1990s. Clemson has won nine ACC Indoor Championships overall and eight under head coach Bob Pollock. North Carolina placed second with 112.50 points, and N.C. State was third with 108 points.

The Tigers had one NCAA automatic qualifier at the meet and six provisional qualifiers. Clemson won the ACC Championship in nine events and had 17 all-ACC selections. Junior Bryan Williams set a new school record in the triple jump (52’5 1/4), and sophomore Sultan Tucker tied the ACC record in the 60m hurdles (7.79).

The team was led in scoring by Shawn Crawford with 20 points, followed by freshman Ato Modibo with 18 1/2 points and junior Bryan Williams with 16 points. Twenty-one out of Clemson’s 28 athletes at the meet scored points, and the freshman class led the Tigers with 55 points.

It’s a tremendous feeling winning the 1999 championship and even more to have a three-peat, said Pollock following the win. I am really proud of our guys. This meet probably this has to go down as one of the best track performances in the history of Clemson and the ACC. We won nine out of 16 events overall and ended up with 12 ACC Champions, including the four members of our relay team. This is probably one of the greatest ACC performances in Clemson’s history. I have to give credit to my assistants, Ralph White and Aaron James, for making sure we were well-prepared for the meet. Individually we had several national qualifiers, including Shawn Crawford in the 60m and the 200m, Sultan Tucker in the 60m hurdles, Ato Modibo in the 400m and our 4x400m relay team. In the field events Doug Ameigh qualified in the high jump and Bryan Williams in the triple jump.

Clemson posted wins in seven of eight running events on Saturday. Tucker won the 60m hurdles, and freshman Todd Matthews was third in the event with a time of 7.91. Crawford won the 60m and the 200m. He won the championship in the 60m for the second-consecutive season, posting a time of 6.77. In the 60m, senior Kenny Franklin was fourth with a time of 6.84, and junior Charles Allen finished eighth with a time of 6.95.

The Tigers had five athletes score in the 200m. Crawford won the ACC Championship with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 20.81. Freshman Ato Modibo was third with a time of 21.25, followed by Franklin in fourth at 21.31. Freshman Anthony Moorman placed fifth with a time of 21.31, and Allen was eighth at 21.64.

In the 400m, Ato Modibo won the championship with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 46.00. Clemson senior Davidson Gill won the 800m in 1:52.46, and Tiger senior Esteban Diaz won the mile with a time of 4:10.20. Freshman Ryan Demers was seventh in the mile with a time of 4:14.33. Clemson’s 4x400m relay team of Allen, Franklin, Gill and Modibo won the championship with a provisional time of 3:09.66.

In the field events on Saturday, Clemson freshman Doug Ameigh won the high jump with a provisional qualifying jump of 7’1 1/2, his highest of the season. Williams was third with a jump of 6’10 3/4, followed by freshman Mark Mirabito in fourth with a jump of 6’8 3/4.

Williams won the triple jump , and sophomore Tony Lloyd was third with a mark of 50′ 3/4. Sophomore Ben Hess placed fourth in the pole vault with a jump of 15’7, and freshman Keith Rzewuski was eighth with a throw of 50’1 1/2 in the weight throw.

In Friday’s action, Rzewuski was fourth in the shot put competition with a throw of 53’7, and senior Tom Hopkins was seventh in the event with a throw of 49’10 1/2. Freshman Mark Jellison was eighth in the long jump with a mark of 23’5 1/2.

Senior Joe Gibson placed third in the finals of the 5,000m with a time of 14:26.14, and the Tiger team of Mike Connelly, Gill, Shaun Murphy and Demers placed fourth with a time of 10:06.99 in the distance medley relay. The time was Clemson’s best of the season by 15 seconds.

The top two athletes in each event earn all-ACC honors. Meet MVP, Coach and Freshman of the Year will be announced next week.

CLEMSON WOMEN PLACE SECOND AT ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS The Clemson women’s track and field team placed second with 100 points at the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship Saturday in Blacksburg. North Carolina won the meet with 121 points, giving the Tar Heels’ their seventh-straight championship.

I’m very pleased with the way our team performed this weekend, said head coach Ron Garner following the meet. I believe as an entire group, we learned how to be champions. We put ourselves in the position to contend for the title on Friday and followed up with outstanding performances throughout Saturday. There were a few glitches today, but I take credit for those as head coach.

“We had outstanding performances from Shekera Weston in both the 200m and 400m, Erin Nett and Mandy McLane in the pole vault, Nikkie Bouyer in the 60m hurdles and Jamine Moton in the shot put. Julianne Littmann performed superbly in the 800m and mile, then competed again in the 3000m run. Our distance medley relay exemplified what I want Clemson to be known as – a true competitor. Not one of the individuals on the relay were in the top 15 in the conference, yet as a group they performed to finish third,” said Garner.

Clemson junior Shekera Weston won the ACC Championship in the 200m and 400m, recording provisional qualifying times in both events. Weston recorded a time of 23.62 in the 200m, and senior Nikkie Bouyer was fifth with a time of 24.40. Weston won the 400m in 53.36.

In the 60m hurdles, Bouyer placed second with a provisional qualifying time of 8.30, and freshman Kyana Elder finished fifth with a time of 8.54. Sophomore Terri Robinson was fifth in the 60m, recording a time of 7.61, while sophomore Simone Brown placed seventh with a time of 7.67.

Senior Julianne Littmann led all Clemson finishers in the 800m and mile, placing third in both events. Littmann posted a time of 2:14.26 in the 800m, and Clemson senior Brantley Epps was eighth with a time of 2:20.14. Littmann ran a 4:55.08 in the mile, and Epps was ninth with a time of 5:03.17. Junior Beth Ahern was fifth in the 3,000m with a time of 10:03.87.

In the field events on Friday, Clemson took first and second place in the pole vault and fist place in the shot put. Freshman Erin Nett won the pole vault, setting a new ACC meet record with an NCAA provisional mark of 11’6 1/4. Sophomore Mandy McLane placed second after clearing the same height on a later jump. Sophomore Jamine Moton won the shot put with a provisional qualifying mark of 29’1 1/2.

Sophomore Terri Robinson placed seventh in the long jump with a mark of 19’0, and sophomore Dana Copeland tied for seventh with a jump of 5’4 1/4 in the high jump competition.

The top two athletes in each event earn all-ACC honors.

TIGER MEN RANK AMONG NATION’S BEST The men’s indoor track team is tied for a 19th-place national ranking, according to the poll released last Wednesday by Trackwire.

Five individuals and one relay team rank among the best in the nation. Shawn Crawford, the defending national champion indoors in the 200m, automatically qualified for the NCAAs in the event with a time of 20.80 at the ACC Championships. His converted time of 21.05 is the ninth-best in the nation. Crawford is tied for 22nd nationally with a time of 6.71 in the 60m dash.

Freshman Ato Modibo leads the nation with a converted time of 46.40 in the 400m. He ran a time of 46.00 to win the ACC Championship.

Sophomore Sultan Tucker has the sixth-fastest time nationally in the 60m hurdles after winning the ACC Championship with a time of 7.79. Junior Bryan Williams ranks sixth nationally with a triple jump of 52’5 1/4, and freshman Doug Ameigh is tied for 25th nationally with a mark of 7’1 1/2 in the high jump.

SIX WOMEN PROVISIONALLY QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS Six athletes on the women’s team have provisionally qualified for the NCAAs, including junior Shekera Weston, who has the sixth-fastest time in the nation in the 400m (53.66c). She has the ninth-fastest time nationally in the 60m at 7.34 and ranks 13th nationally in the 200m (23.82c).

Senior Nikkie Bouyer ranks 17th nationally with a time of 8.30 in the 60m hurdles, and sophomore Terri Robinson is 15th nationally in the long jump (20’5 1/4). In the pole vault, freshman Erin Nett is tied for 24th with a vault of 11’11 3/4, and sophomore Mandy McLane is tied for 37th with a vault of 11’6 1/2. Sophomore Jamine Moton ranks 22nd nationally in the shot put with a throw of 49’1 1/2.

WOMEN AMONG TOP IN ACC The women’s track and field team has several athletes ranked among the leaders in the ACC, including sophomore Shekera Weston, who leads the conference in the 60m dash (7.34), and is third in the 200m (24.21) and fourth in the 400m (55.12).

The Tigers lead the league in three of the six field events. Freshman Erin Nett from Bel Air, MD, leads the conference in the pole vault after setting a new ACC record of 11’11 3/4, and sophomore Mandy McLane ranks second in the pole vault with a mark of 11’5 3/4. Sophomore Jamine Moton, the defending ACC outdoor shot put champion, leads the league in the weight throw (57’5 3/4) and the shot put (49’0 1/4). In the long jump, Terri Robinson is second at 20’5 1/4.

Among the top runners in the 60m dash are sophomores Simone Brown, who ranks fifth with a time of 7.51, and Robinson, who is seventh at 7.53. Freshman Kyana Elder of Atlanta ranks sixth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.62. Senior Nikkie Bouyer ranks second in the ACC in the 60m hurdles (8.34), is fifth in the 200m (24.38) and is eighth in the 60m (7.60). The Clemson 4x400m relay team has the third-fastest time in the ACC (3:48.72).

In the distance events, junior Beth Ahern ranks second in the 5000m (17:27.04) and is tenth in the 3000m with a time of 10:06.93. Sophomore Erika van Reenan is sixth in the 5000m after recording a time of 18:06.80. Senior Julianne Littmann ranks eighth in the conference in the mile run with a time of 4:59.97 and is fourth with a time of 2:12.49 in the 800m. Senior Brantley Epps is ranked sixth in the 800m with a time of 2:14.21. The distance medley relay team of Littmann, Helena Janecic, Stackhouse and Epps is ranked third in the ACC with a time of 12:01.61.

MEN AMONG TOP IN ACC The men’s track and field team has several athletes ranked among the top-ten in the ACC. Junior Shawn Crawford, the defending national champion in the 200m indoors, leads the conference after recording a time of 21.01. He also leads the conference in the 60m dash with a time of 6.72.

Three freshmen are among the top sprinters in the league. Ato Modibo from Beltsville, MD, ranks third in the league in the 400m (47.04) and has the ninth-fastest time in the league in the 60m at 6.94. Anthony Moorman from Roselle, IL, ranks fifth in the ACC in the 200m with a time of 21.77. In the 60m hurdles, Todd Matthews of Trenton, NJ, ranks sixth with a time of 7.97.

Senior Kenny Franklin ranks second in the 200m (21.46) and third in the 60m (6.85), while sophomore Sultan Tucker is third in the 60m hurdles (7.84). Senior Davidson Gill tops the ACC in the 800m with a time of 1:50.77. Junior Charles Allen ranks second in the 60m (6.81), fourth in the 200m (21.53), and sixth in the 400m (48.16). Clemson is second in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:14.65.

The Tiger distance runners are among the best in the 3000m. Senior Esteban Diaz ranks ninth with a time of 8:25.70, and senior Joe Gibson is tenth at 8:27.89. Clemson athletes also appear as top performers in the mile run and 5000m run. Diaz is fifth in the conference in the mile run with a time of 4:08.63. Meany is seventh in the 5000m run (14:50.27), and Steve Alexander ranks tenth (14:57.93). The Clemson distance medley relay team is fifth in the conference at 10:21.42.

In the field events, freshman Doug Ameigh of Washingtonville, PA, leads the league with a mark of 7’1 in the high jump. Freshman Mark Mirabito of Liverpool, NY, and junior Bryan Williams are tied for sixth at 6’7. In the long jump, Maull has the forth-longest mark in the conference (24’5).

Williams is second in the triple jump at 50’2 3/4, and sophomore Tony Lloyd ranks forth (49′ 3 1/2). Maul is seventh at 47′ 1/4. Sophomore Ben Hess ranks sixth among ACC athletes in the pole vault (15’5.75), and sophomore Bobby Latham is tenth at 15’3.

In the throwing events, freshman Keith Rzewuski of Edison, NJ, is third in the shot put (53’3/4) and sixth in the 35 lb. weight throw (50’5 1/4). Senior Tom Hopkins is eighth in the shot put (48’2 3/4) and ninth in the weight throw (44’2 3/4).

March 5-6 Tigers at NCAA Indoor Championships Indianapolis, IN