BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams wrapped up competition at the Montreat College Invitational on Saturday.
The Tusculum men, behind a first-place finish from junior Marquel Pittman in the 100 meters and three runner-up finishes, were fifth among 27 scoring teams with 74 points. The Pioneer women used a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay to end up in ninth place among the 25 teams that scored with 37 points.
Tusculum will return to competition April 8-9 at the Flames Invitational, hosted by Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.
MEN'S RECAP
Pittman, running in the third of seven sections, was clocked at 10.95 seconds to finish first overall in his first outdoor race for the Pioneers. His time puts him seventh on the program performance list in the event. Junior Zackary Nelson was third in 11.02 seconds for eighth all-time, and freshman Stephen Brewer was fifth in 11.08 seconds to take over 10th on the program performance list. Senior Gerard Hearst was seventh overall at 11.15 seconds and sophomore Jordan Taylor finished 10th in 11.24 seconds.
Pittman also ran in the 4x400 relay that finished second overall and broke the school record with a time of 3:25.08. Also running for the Pioneers were freshman Xavion Bogus, junior Jarvis Barber Jr. and freshman Joshua Stephens, and together they broke the record of 3:26.44 set at last year's Montreat Invitational.
Senior David Saruni finished second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.41 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in school history and good for third place on the Tusculum performance list. Bogus was 15th in the 800 meters and took over eighth place on the Tusculum performance list with a time of 2:05.13.
In the 200 meters, Nelson was fourth in 22.20 seconds to claim fourth place on the performance list at Tusculum, while All-American Widchard Guervil ran the 400 meters in 50.88 seconds to place sixth overall. Barber also ran the 400 meters and was seventh in 51.18 seconds to move into third on the Pioneer performance list.
Tusculum's 4x100 "A" relay of junior Devan Hart, Barber, Pittman and Taylor finished second overall in 41.09 seconds, the sixth-best time in school history and just shy of a national qualifier. The "B" relay of Hearst, Brewer, junior Pierre Dupuy and Nelson was seventh in 42.22 seconds.
Stephens also competed in the triple jump for the Pioneers on Saturday, and took fifth place with a top mark of 13.15 meters (43 feet, 1 3/4 inches).
Host Montreat won the team championship with 124 points, followed by Carson-Newman (105 points), UNC Asheville (103), Catawba (79) and Tusculum (74).
WOMEN'S RECAP
The Tusculum 4x400 relay of grad student Kenisha Stubbs, junior Destiny Lottie, sophomore Judy Chellah and freshman Silvia Bah placed third overall in 4:12.34, which ranks 10th on the program performance list in the event.
Bah was 10th overall in the 100 meters at 13.09 seconds, putting her in fourth on the Tusculum performance list. In the 200 meters, junior Aliyah Adderley finished seventh in 26.56 seconds followed by Lottie at 26.58 seconds for eighth place and grad student I'Keriah Day in ninth at 26.98 seconds. Adderley moved into eighth on the program performance list in the 200 while Lottie slotted into 10th place with her mark.
In the 400 meters, Chellah was 14th overall at 1:04.69 and moved into eighth on the performance list at Tusculum, while Stubbs ran in the 800 and was 15th at 2:29.78, good for fifth on the Pioneer performance list.
UNC Asheville claimed first place in the team standings with 138 points, with College of Charleston in second with 116 points. Carson-Newman (76.5 points) was third, with Belmont Abbey (69.5) and Catawba (55) rounding out the top five. Ahead of the Pioneers were Columbia International in sixth (50.5 points), Columbia (S.C.) in seventh at 50 points and Lees-McRae in eighth at 43 points.
Montreat Invitational - Day 2 of 2
Tusculum results
MEN
100: 1. Marquel Pittman, 10.95; 3. Zackary Nelson, 11.02; 5. Stephen Brewer, 11.08; 7. Gerard Hearst, 11.15; 10. Jordan Taylor, 11.24; 12. Joshua Stephens, 11.36; 20. Devan Hart, 11.43; 60. Pierre Dupuy, 16.61.
200: 4. Zackary Nelson, 22.20; 39. Landen Locklear, 24.27.
400: 6. Widchard Guervil, 50.88; 7. Jarvis Barber Jr., 51.18; 22. Landen Locklear, 53.17.
800: 15. Xavion Bogus, 2:05.13.
400HH: 2. David Saruni, 56.41.
4x100: 2. Tusculum A (Hart, Barber, Pittman, Taylor), 41.09; 7. Tusculum B (Hearst, Brewer, Dupuy, Nelson), 42.22.
4x400: 2. Tusculum (Bogus, Barber, Pittman, Stephens), 3:25.08 (school record).
Triple Jump: 5. Joshua Stephens, 13.15m (43-1 3/4).
Team scores: 1. Montreat, 124; 2. Carson-Newman, 105; 3. UNC Asheville, 103; 4. Catawba, 79; 5. Tusculum, 74.
WOMEN
100: 10. Silvia Bah, 13.09.
200: 7. Aliyah Adderley, 26.56; 8. Destiny Lottie, 26.58; 9. I'Keriah Day, 26.98.
400: 14. Judy Chellah, 1:04.69.
800: 15. Kenisha Stubbs, 2:29.78.
4x100: Tusculum, DNF.
4x400: 3. Tusculum (Stubbs, Lottie, Chellah, Bah), 4:12.34.
Discus: 26. Amber Hogan, 27.31m (89-7).
Team scores: 1. UNC Asheville, 138; 2. College of Charleston, 116; 3. Carson-Newman, 76.5; 4. Belmont Abbey, 69.5; 5. Catawba, 55; 9. Tusculum, 37.
