Lomnicka Leads Tiger Track & Field on Day One of Florida Relays

April 3, 2009

Gainesville, FL – Nikola Lomnicka’s victory in the hammer throw highlighted day one of action for Clemson track & field at the Florida Relays. Lomnicka was one of three regional qualifiers on Friday for the Tigers. It was the second such effort in as many meets for the freshman from Nitra, Slovakia.

Lomnicka easily won the hammer competition after posting a throw of 201’3″ on her first throw of the finals. She attempted to surpass her previous season-best on her last two efforts, but she fouled on both. It was Lomnicka’s second win of the season as well, as she took first place two weeks ago at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami.

Also posting regional-qualifying marks on Friday were Travis Swaggard in the 400m hurdles and Anastasia Wilson in the high jump. Swaggard ran a time of 52.23 and finished ninth. It marks the second straight season Swaggard has qualified for the East Region Championships in the intermediate hurdles. Wilson cleared 5’8.75″ and was runner-up in the women’s high jump. Her clearance matched a personal outdoor best for the junior from Conway, SC.

Miller Moss and Will Noble performed well in the 400m and 800m events, respectively. Moss finished 17th out of 43 competitors in the quarter mile with a time of 47.50, while Noble placed ninth in the 800m run with a personal best 1:51.90. In the women’s 800m, senior Candice Johnson was 14th overall with a time of 2:12.22, also a personal best time.

In the 1500m, Joanie Castagno led the women’s team with a 14th place individual finish. She posted a personal best time of 4:39.22. On the men’s side, Chris Slate was 23rd with a time of 4:02.34.

The 4x200m relay team finished sixth on Friday. The team consisted of C.J. Spiller, Jacoby Ford, and Justin Murdock. Clemson’s group posted a time of 1:24.24.

Caroline Kennedy was one of three pole vaulters to clear 12’1.5″ on Friday for the Tigers. She finished in 12th place, ahead of Kathleen Majester (15th) and Emily Barlage (18th). For Majester and Barlage, the clearance was a personal best and tied for fifth-best in Clemson’s outdoor pole vault history.

The team returns to action Saturday for the final day of competition in Gainesville. The action gets started with the men’s javelin at 11:30 AM.