Winthrop

AKRON, OH--After a three week layoff due to weather, the Winthrop men’s and women’s track teams were back in action this past weekend as they turned in several top performances at the Akron Invitational which attracted 10 schools.

The Winthrop men’s performances were highlighted by junior Keary Sims’ first place finish in the triple Jump.  He had a leap of 14.19m (46-feet,  7-inches).  Sims also turned in a strong performance in the 60 meter hurdles as he placed 5^th in the Gold division finals with a time of 8.30 seconds. 

The women’s 4x400 relay team set a new Winthrop record as it finished fifth overall in the Gold Division of the meet which also included Akron, Pittsburgh and Ohio State. The quartet Sasha Robinson, Latasha Watson, Amami Antia – Obong and Monique James turned in a record time of 3:54.59, eclipsing the old mark of 3:58.3 set in 1999.

Senior throws leader Ashley Howard made her return to her home state of Ohio a success as she got Winthrop off to a good start on Friday winning the indoor discus title with a heave of 47.16m (154-feet, 9-inches) which was more than 15 feet better than her nearest competitor. This was Howard’s third win in this rarely won event in her home state of Ohio.  Robinson also opened Saturday’s competition with a victory in the 400 meter dash as she was clocked in 57.15 seconds and barely missed breaking the school record of 57.12 which has stood since 1998.

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In other top finishes for Winthrop, Dexter Young took second place in the High Jump; Carrie Phillips was fourth in the 3000 meter run, Adam Fruedenthal took fourth place in the men’s 3000 meters and Travis Coleman finished fifth in the shot put.

Winthrop will travel to Boone, NC on Thursday for the Appalachian State Invitational.