Von Eynatten Wins BIG EAST; WTF in 2nd

[thatBULL]

Not sure if this has been posted, but I feel it belongs up here.  We actually won a BIG EAST Championship over the weekend (individual) and are currently in second in the BIG EAST Women's Indoor Track Championships.

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1396395

NEW YORK, N.Y. - - The University of South Florida women’s track and field team currently sits in second place at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships with a team total of 26.50 points trailing only Louisville.

The Bulls had a breakout day at the Armory that included a conference champion and eight personal records.

“The girls really stepped up today and I’m talking about all of them,†said USF head coach Warren Bye. “We already improved our point total from last year and we have had an excellent team effort so far.â€Â

USF traveled four pole vaulters to the “Big Apple†and all finished in the top five.

Freshman Denise von Eynatten won the BIG EAST pole vault championship while also setting her own personal best with a 4.15m (13’7.25â€Â) mark.  Von Eynatten made history by becoming USF’s first ever BIG EAST champion and also by setting the all-time conference meet record.  Marrisa Dudek of Pittsburgh previously was at the top with her 4.12m pole vault in 2006.

“I was really tired in the end, but I came here to win and I did that,†said von Eynatten about the grueling competition.

Fellow freshman Dana Webb tied her personal best with a 3.75m leap that placed her on the podium with a third place finish.  Also with a 3.75m mark was freshman and New York native Stephanie Duffy.

The lone senior in the pole vaulting group, Karla Savery, finished out her indoor career in style by setting her own personal best with a 3.60m en route to a fifth-place finish. 

Junior Sara Williams represented the Bulls in the pentathlon and set her career-high point total after the five-event competition.  Williams was the first athlete in action during the meet for USF and set the tone for the day.

Yvana Hepburn followed with a blistering 8.68 time in the 60m hurdles.  The junior from New York broke her personal record by five-hundredths of a second and earned the right to run in the 60m hurdles championship tomorrow.

Stacia Smith continued the trend by setting her personal best in the 60m dash with a 7.74 time.

Running in the 800m race for USF was senior Maressa Pinzini.  In a high-paced heat, Pinzini matched her competitors step for step and recorded her personal best time in the event with a 2:13.86 time that advances her into tomorrow’s final.

In the last event of the day for the Bulls, senior Taylar Stallings sent the team home with a memorable performance in the weight throw.  Stallings, who will also compete in the shotput event in day two of the meet, shattered her personal best in the weight throw.  A career-best 17.40m toss placed her in the finals only to set a new personal record just minutes later with a 17.69m (58’0.5â€Â) throw to place her sixth in the conference.

“It’s incredible and a great way to end my last indoor meet in probably my worst event,†said Stallings.  “I wanted to get to 60 feet, but it’s a good way to end with a three-foot personal record, so I can’t complain with that.â€Â

Through the first full day of action, the Bulls already have five student-athletes (Stallings, von Eynatten, Webb, Duffy, Savery) that have earned the right to be named “all-conference†by placing in the top six in a completed event.     

The second and final day of the BIG EAST Indoor Championships will get underway at 8 a.m. with the awards ceremony closing out the weekend at 3:20 p.m.

“I’m happy where we’re at with getting kids into the finals, we’ll see what happens,†said Bye.  “We challenged them again this evening in the team meeting.  As we talked about, we’re pleased with where we’re at, but we’re not satisfied.†

Fans interested in watching the live action can catch a video stream HERE.