Tulane University
at Alumni Gold Invitational
Taku Leaps into Regional Contention in Triple Jump
Apr 21, 2007 | Cross Country & Track
April 21, 2007
BATON ROUGE, La. - Freshman Nicolette Taku posted two of the Tulane track and field team's 10 personal bests, one a provisional regional qualifying mark, to lead the team in LSU's Alumni Gold Invitational at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium Saturday.
With her mark of 12.34 meters in the triple jump, Taku joins Asumnu and two Green Wave relay teams in earning a provisional invitation to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship in Columbia, Mo., in May. The mark was a two-foot improvement over her previous personal best. Head coach Heather Van Norman was proud of Taku's performance.
"It's finally coming together for Nicolette," Van Norman said. "Coach Glenn Smith has worked hard with her, educating her in the technical aspects of the event."
In addition to her triple jump performance, Taku also set a personal best of 5.43 meters in the long jump. Freshman Arielle Minor also excelled in her two field events, setting personal bests in the javelin and the shot put with throws of 24.62 meters and 9.54 meters, respectively. Minor, in preparation for the heptathlon at the Conference USA championship meet, set a third personal best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.73 seconds.
Minor was far from the only Tulane sprinter that made an impression at the meet. Sophomore Shaina Pelham improved her personal best in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 24.96 seconds. In the same event, junior Andrea Rosemond set a personal best with a time of 25.96 seconds.
Tulane's distance runners also had a noteworthy day on the track, as junior Aubrey Phillips and sophomore Cecelia Clarke set personal bests in the 1,500-meter run. In the 5,000-meter run, junior Keriann Langley posted a 30 second improvement with her time of 17:45.27. Sophomore Whitney Hampton set a season-best mark with a time of 2:17.05 in the 800-meter run.
The Green Wave track and field team returns to the track Thursday in Philadelphia as they will be competing at the Penn Relays.
Here are the results from today's meet:
1,500-METER RUN
8. Aubrey Phillips, 4:45.62 (Personal Best)
15. Cecelia Clarke, 4:59.32 (Personal Best)
20. Lauren Swenson, 5:57.04
100-METER HURDLES
29. Arielle Minor, 17.73 (Personal Best)
100-METER DASH
23. Taneekwa Ross, 12.36
35. Andrea Rosemond, 12.75
800-METER RUN
11. Whitney Hampton, 2:17.05 (Season Best)
200-METER DASH
21. Shaina Pelham, 24.96 (Personal Best)
30. Olivia Kizzee, 25.58
36. Andrea Rosemond, 25.96 (Personal Best)
5,000-METER RUN
4. Keriann Langley, 17:45.27 (Personal Best)
LONG JUMP
29. Nicolette Taku, 5.43m (17-09.75) (Personal Best)
TRIPLE JUMP
6. Nicolette Taku, 12.34m (40-06.00) (Regional Qualifying, Personal Best)
13. Christina Tegbe, 11.53m (37-10.00)
JAVELIN
27. Arielle Minor, 24.62m (80-09) (Personal Best)
SHOT PUT
19. Arielle Minor, 9.54m (31-03.75) (Personal Best)
For full results from the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational, click here.
--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--
Players Mentioned
