Women’s Track & Field Sends Eight to East Region Championships

May 23, 2007

East Region NotesDownload Free Acrobat Reader

Clemson, SC – The women’s track & field team will send eight student-athletes to the East Region Championships this weekend in Gainesville, FL in hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships next month. The top five finishers in individual events and the top three relay teams earn automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, held June 6-9 in Sacramento, CA.

The Lady Tiger program actually has nine qualifiers this season, but hurdler Krystal Barringer will not travel or compete for the team due to an ongoing bout with mononucleosis. She was a first-time regional qualifier for Marcia Noad’s squad in the high hurdles.

Clemson has a solid history in the four-year existence of the regional format. In the inaugural meet, the Lady Tigers placed eighth in the team standings. Clemson was 12th in 2004 and 13th in 2005. Lady Tigers have earned All-Region honors on seven occasions, including four by Gisele Oliveira. She won back-to-back East Region crowns in the triple jump (2004-05). Silja Ulfarsdottir also earned multiple All-Region honors in the intermediate hurdles.

Most of Clemson’s action this weekend will take place Saturday, although three competitors will see action Friday. At 3:00 PM, freshmen Linda Buchholz and Bethanie Wachna will compete in the javelin throw. Buchholz is the school record-holder in the event and also an All-ACC performer. She had a throw of 152’5″ at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in March. Wachna qualified for regionals on her last throw at the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 12.

Polly Hardy has had an outstanding season in the high hurdles. She scored at the ACC Championships and most recently placed fourth in the event at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Her top time this season was 13.57 at the Clemson Relays, which ranks third-best in school history. The prelims are scheduled for 4:30, with Saturday’s final slated to begin at 6:25 PM.

Della Clark and Rochelle Kokayko qualified for regionals in the hammer throw for the second straight season. Clark is actually a four-time qualifier in the event. She had a season-best throw of 190’4″ at the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 11 and ranks second in school history in the event. Kokayko is third on the all-time performance list in the event with a mark of 184’6″. Those two will compete at noon Saturday.

At 3:00 PM, freshman Caroline Kennedy will compete in her first-ever East Region meet. The native of Orlando, FL earned All-ACC honors during indoor season and has a personal best of 12’5.5″ this year. She scored at the outdoor conference meet with a fifth-place finish. She ranks fourth on Clemson’s outdoor pole vault performance list.

A pair of freshmen will compete in Saturday’s triple jump at 6:00 PM. Patricia Mamona has been an outstanding addition to the team since arriving mid-year from Portugal. She is an indoor and outdoor All-ACC performer and owns an outdoor personal best of 43’0.5″. She ranks second only to Oliveira on the school’s performance list in the triple jump.

Nakeisha Wineglass qualified for the meet after a jump of 40’6″ at the Solid Orange Classic on April 14. She was ninth and just shy of scoring for the Lady Tigers in the event at the ACC Championships last month in College Park, MD.

Schedule of Events – Clemson competitors

Friday, May 25 3:00 PM – Javelin Throw – Buchholz, Wachna 4:30 PM – 100m Hurdles (prelims) – Hardy

Saturday, May 26 12:00 PM – Hammer Throw – Clark, Kokayko 3:00 PM – Pole Vault – Kennedy 6:00 PM – Triple Jump – Mamona, Wineglass