Liberty University
Coastal Carolina Invitational
Feister, Finger, Women's 4 x 200 Win at Coastal
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty won three events on a cool, breezy Friday at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, including the men's javelin (Steve Feister), women's pole vault (Mariel Finger) and women's 4 x 200 relay (Abigail Flower, Dana Mercer, Kate Flower, Rajon Stinnett-Perry). The Flames and Lady Flames also achieved numerous personal-best marks, making it a successful opening day of the 2015 outdoor track & field season at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
Men's Day One Recap
Feister heaved the javelin a personal-best 217-11 on his sixth and final throw, winning the event and capping off an impressive series which saw all six attempts sail more than 200 feet. His previous best (211-5) had been set four years earlier at the 2011 Penn Relays, as a senior at Hempfield High School.
With the 217-11 effort, Feister climbed to No. 3 in program history and No. 9 on the Big South's all-time men's javelin list. He likely also punched his ticket to the 2015 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet, to be contested May 28-30 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Teammate Daniel Klase, who came in 14th in the javelin at the 2014 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet, opened his senior season with a mark of 206-11 which was good for fourth place in the competition.
Redshirt junior Fred Fulton made a solid outdoor debut for the Flames, placing fifth in the men's hammer at 172-8. The performance was good for the No. 10 spot on Liberty's all-time list. David Scouten followed in seventh place with a top throw of 167-1.
The Flames displayed their depth in the mid-distance events by placing two 4 x 800 relay teams in the top five. The all-freshman quartet of Stalline Kurgat, Christopher Crowder, Jeremy Miekley and Andrew Crowell came in third in 8:05.17. Kurgat's leadoff split (2:00.51) was the fastest of the day for the Flames.
Liberty's 4 x 800 "B" squad of Colin Schultz, Will Templeton, Louis Paone and Cameron Francis won its heat and placed fifth overall in 8:10.54.
Women's Day One Recap
The foursome of Abigail Flower, Mercer, Kate Flower and Stinnett-Perry teamed up for a winning time of 1:40.02 in the women's 4 x 200 relay.
Battling windy conditions, freshman Mariel Finger took top honors with an 11-5.75 clearance in the pole vault, defeating Coastal Carolina's Emma Kroger on misses. Finger is now tied for seventh on Liberty's all-time list after just one outdoor meet.
Behind Finger, Chandler Fraley vaulted 10-11.75 for third place, while Audrey Rabe tied for fourth place at 10-6.
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Flames fared quite well in the javelin on Friday. Liberty placed three throwers in the top 10, with each of the three achieving a new personal-best mark.
Yana Babbitt led the way, reaching 143-5 for fourth place. An 11-foot personal best moves the redshirt sophomore up to No. 2 in program history and No. 8 in Big South Conference annals.
Nicole Bishop added 18 feet to her previous best javelin toss, measuring 137-10 for sixth place in both the competition and on Liberty's all-time performance list.
Freshman Brenna Smith threw the javelin a personal-best 123-10 in her collegiate debut, coming in 10th overall.
Jocelyn Williams was the women's hammer runner-up at 166-9. Teammates Jennifer Smith (154-11) and Holly Arey (141-11) were eighth and ninth, respectively. Arey's mark puts the freshman ninth in Liberty history.
Jasmin Sutton, Alexis Taylor, Megan Versen and Crystal Grierson teamed up to place fourth in the 4 x 800 relay in 9:41.69.
Melissa Rohwer long jumped 17-9 for 10th place in the seeded section of the event.
Kelsee Derr was the runner-up in the open section of the women's 100 hurdles, thanks to a wind-aided 15.58 clocking.
Versen took the fifth spot in the open women's 1,500, crossing the line in 5:07.25.
The meet will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. with the men's discus. The women's 3K will get the running events started at 9:30.
