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Both Men and Women In Good Position After Day One of Colonial Relays
 
Halliwill blows away competition in the hammer throw.
 
 
 
Senior Meagan Halliwill after her third-place finish in the weight throw at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Senior Meagan Halliwill after her third-place finish in the weight throw at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
 

April 4, 2008

Day One Results

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Michigan State track & field team finished the first day of competition on Friday night at the Colonial Relays, hosted by the College of William & Mary. Both the men and women sit in third place after the first day, with the men going into day two with 36 points and the women with 38 points. Senior Meagan Halliwill buried the competition in the hammer throw for the second-consecutive week, finishing with a launch of 56.78m (186-3 1/2), more than four meters further than second place.

In addition to Halliwill, senior Lisa Senakiewich also took first place in the 1500m, coming in with a time of 4:21.69. Senior Jackie Walton qualified for tomorrow's finals in the 100m hurdles, as she finished on top with a time of 13.79. Freshman Erica Mann (11.95) and senior Paris Mandy (12.15) will both compete in the finals of Saturday's 200m dash as they finished in first and fourth, respectively, in the preliminaries. Walton (4th-24.56) and Mann (5th-24.77) also finished back-to-back in the 200m dash, both scoring points for the Green and White.

Two Spartans finished in the top 10 for MSU in the 5000m. Red-shirt freshman Becky McCormack came in fifth with a time of 17:32.12, while Ashley Casavant finished in 10th (17:56.76). Senior Chaquerra Allen came in sixth in the long jump, leaping a distance of 5.67m (18-7 1/4). Junior Amber Shelters also contributed to the Michigan State's overall score, finishing sixth in the 400m dash with a time of 56.40.

 

 

On the men's side, senior Jason Brown made an impact in his second competition of the season, finishing first in the shot put with a throw of 17.57m (57-7 3/4), while sophomore Scott Beals took top honors in the javelin with a toss of 59.78m (196-1). Junior Michael Smoot came in second in the 400m dash (48.76), and Adam Sprangel finished fifth in the 3000m, coming in at 9:21.24. In mid-distance competition, sophomore Ian Boyle scored for MSU, finishing fourth in the 800m, crossing the finish line at 1:54.03. In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Jake Hamilton also placed fourth, finishing with a time of 54.27.

"I felt like we did well in the first day," said MSU Director of Track & Field Walt Drenth. "We had some exceptional performances in the throws area. Scott Beals' win was good, and both Jason Brown and Meagan Halliwill had substantial personal-bests in winning their events. I thought Lisa Senakiewich had a great run as well. We have a good chance to finish high in some finals tomorrow and hopefully our relay teams can do well. So overall I'm happy with our performances today."

Michigan State continues tomorrow as it begins competition at 9:30 a.m. with the men's hammer throw.