Liberty University
Hokie Invitational
Chelanga Opens Season with 4:03 Mile at VT
1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Ten-time All-American Sam Chelanga opened his senior indoor track & field season in fine fashion, Friday evening at the Hokie Invitational. His winning time of 4:03.84 in the men's mile set a new personal best and highlighted Liberty's successful day inside Rector Field House.
Men's Meet Recap
Almost exactly two months after winning his second consecutive NCAA Division I national cross country title, Chelanga made his best attempt at a sub-4:00 mile to date. Towed along by freshman teammate Jarred Cornfield, Chelanga went through 800 meters in 1:59.5.
However, Chelanga's pace slowed to 63.8 seconds for the next 400 meters, after Cornfield stepped aside. With Virginia senior All-American Emil Heineking starting to close the gap, Chelanga clocked 58.9 seconds for his final two laps to seal the victory, reaching the finish line in 4:03.84.
Chelanga's time, a considerable improvement upon his previous best of 4:07.15, currently ranks No. 2 nationally. His IC4A-qualifying mark put him two seconds ahead of Heineking and four and a half seconds in front of Liberty assistant coach Derek Scott, who placed third in 4:08.28.
Chelanga was one of four Flames to qualify for the IC4A meet on Friday. Two of the other qualifiers came in the triple jump, where Liberty put three athletes in the top 12. Leading the way was Anthony Bryant, who placed fourth with an indoor personal-best leap of 49-11 in his season debut.
Clarence Powell, who had qualified for the IC4A Championship earlier in the season, came in eighth with a first-attempt 48-6.25 jump. Finally, Chris Johnson jumped a foot longer than he ever had before indoors, stretching the tape just past the IC4A line to 46-11.5. He placed 12th in the meet and moves up to No. 9 on Liberty's all-time indoor triple jump list.
Liberty's other IC4A qualification came in the men's 60-meter dash prelims, thanks to Jacey Bailey's 6.96 effort.
The number three was a common component of the Flames' other three noteworthy day one performances. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Smith placed third in the weight throw by extending his personal best to 58-1.75. Andre Washington became the third-fastest 300-meter runner in program history with his 34.79 clocking. It was the fastest 300 by a Liberty runner since 1988. In the night's final event, decathlete Geren Woodbridge tied for third in the pole vault at a season-best height of 14-9.
Women's Meet Recap
As was the case on the men's side, the reigning Big South individual cross country champion provided the performance of the day for the Lady Flames. Junior Jennifer Klugh placed third in the women's 3K and qualified for the ECAC Division I Indoor Championships with her personal-best time of 9:53.24. The time cut 14 seconds off of her previous indoor 3K best and ranks No. 3 in program history.
Klugh kept a steady pace of approximately 40 seconds per lap until the final two revolutions of Rector Field House's banked 200-meter oval. The Buckeye State native then stepped on the accelerator, closing the race with laps of 37.6 and 35.9 seconds.
Sophomore Meghan Burggraf ran a strong race in the rarely contested 600, claiming fifth place with a 1:34.53.
Other top placers for the Lady Flames included Shelley Parker and Mia Aghaji. Parker came in sixth in her section of the pole vault, with a top clearance of 11-1.75. Meanwhile, Aghaji was 12th in the triple jump, at 37-8.
Hokie Invitational action will resume Saturday at 10 a.m., with the women's high jump. Running events will get underway one hour later, when the gun goes off for the women's 5K.
