PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Augusta Jaguars women's outdoor track and field team took ninth at the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Championships on Saturday afternoon.
The Jaguars competed in their fourth PBC Championships after joining the league in full for the 2013 season. Augusta finished sixth at the championships in 2015, eighth in 2014, and eighth in their inaugural league final in 2013.
For the second year in a row, the Shorter University men's and women's track and field teams claimed the PBC Championships as the meet concluded on Saturday at UNC Pembroke. The Shorter women's team turned in a dominating performance with 201.5 points, setting a PBC record for team scoring in the process. Nova Southeastern was second at 157.5 with Montevallo third at 134.
Augusta performed well out of the gate on Thursday, notching top-ten finishes in all but two of the events they finished in. Freshman Kiana Kelly and senior Jenna Foster both recorded their highest finishes of the day in the shot put, with Kelly placing fourth with a distance of 10.14m and Foster placing eighth with a distance of 7.80m. Kelly also grabbed three more top-10 spots on the day and was named to the PBC All-Sportsmanship team.
Sophomore Dejah Johnson put herself in good position in the 100m dash prelims, placing sixth with at time of 12.28. In the 1500m run, junior Olivia Rodriguez finished 11th with a time of 4:53.60, followed by sophomore Amber Palermo in 14th with a time of 5:00.39. Heather Hammett notched a top-10 finish in the 400m dash, narrowly missing qualifying for finals with a ninth-place finish and a time of 59.20. Senior Jordan Humphrey also claimed a top-10 finish in the 10000m run with a time of 42:48.34.
Friday's competition got off to a slow start after a two hour rain delay. Kelly and Foster were the only participants for the Jaguars on day two. Kelly managed to get seventh place or higher in all four events that she competed in on Friday, with her top finish being second place in the javelin throw heptathlon after a distance of 29.26m.
The Jaguars had numerous high finishes on the final day of competition as well. Coming off a tremendous day, Kelly notched another top-ten in the javelin throw with a 10th place distance of 27.90m. Freshman Macy Hayes put up the high finish for the day for the Jaguars with a third place finish in the high jump after a 1.56m jump.
Ryffe and Hammett both took home fourth place finishes in the 3000m steeplechase and the 400m hurdles, respectively. In the 100m dash, Johnson performed well after putting herself in good position with a seventh place finish after a time of 12.59.
2016 PBC Track & Field Awards
ALL SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
SCHOOL MALE FEMALE
Alabama-Huntsville Thomas Grace Lauren Davis
Augusta Daniel Langston Kiana Kelly
Clayton State Alex Sanchez Joy Diaz
Columbus State Jalen Tolbert Amber Braswell
Florida Tech Nickolus Knowles Rhonwen Gavagni
Montevallo Shykeem Jackson Hunter Chavarry
Nova Southeastern Akeim David Monica Sapp
UNC Pembroke Braxton Simmons Morgan Sheehan
Shorter Gregory Roachford Ayana Walker
Women's Track Athlete of the Year: Vicky Winslow, Alabama-Huntsville
Women's Field Athlete of the Year: Jaynell Brown, UNC Pembroke
Women's Freshman Track Athlete of the Year: Katie Nelson, Montevallo
Women's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year: Yamara Robinson, Shorter
Women's Coach of the Year: Scott Byrd, Shorter
Women's Track Elite 15 Presented by Grades First: Katie Bradner, Montevallo
Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Albert Chelimo, Shorter
Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Nathan Knox, Florida Tech
Men's Freshman Track Athlete of the Year: Maximilian Sperl, Nova Southeastern
Men's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year: William Glesge, Nova Southeastern
Men's Coach of the Year: Bryan Hagopian, Nova Southeastern
Men's Track Elite 15 Presented by Grades First: Daniel Schultz, Florida Tech
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