Dec. 4, 2009

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CLEMSON, S.C. - The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman Track & Field opened the 2009-10 indoor season, Friday, at the Roaring Tiger Opener, on the campus of Clemson University. This was not only the first opportunity for competition for the 09-10 Wildcats, but also the first meet under the guidance of B-CU first-season head coach, Donald Cooper. Although B-CU was competitive as a team on both the men's and women's side, the field events showed up as the top individual scorers for the day.

Leading the women, Ron Danielle Williams showed her veteran leadership, claiming the top spot in the women's shot put, taking first with a top throw of 14.11m (46.2926 ft.). Also scoring well in the event, Maketa Ruffin finished fourth with a distance of 10.63m (34.8753 ft.)

Newcomer Anthony Breaux claimed first place in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.55m (5.085 ft.).

Meanwhile, Kenson Nicholas placed sixth in his top event, the long jump, leaping a distance of 6.52m (21.3910 ft.) to start his season off with a score. Ryan Sanders finished eleventh in the women's long jump, jumping 5.18m (16.9947 ft.).

B-CU's relay teams also did quite well, placing in most of their respective events, topped by the men's 4 x 800m relay (composed of Marcell Keeling, William Cosby, Derrick Taylor, and Tavares Harris), which finished third in a time of 8:21.09. The men's 4 x 400m relay (made up of Eric Cray, Marcell Keeling, William Cosby, and Derrick Taylor) finished fifth with a time of 3:28.10. On the women's side, the 4 x 400 came in sixth at 4:03.17 for the team of Lashondra Wilbon, Vanderlyn Watts, Crystal Bardge, and Alese Forbes.

The Wildcats showed progress in the middle distance events, led by Robert Horton, who finished fourth in the 500m dash, with a time of 1:07.51. Newcomer Devon Creary finished eleventh in the event (1:09.17), while Demetrius Douglas-Davis finished seventeenth (1:14.58). Alexandria Condell finished ninth in the women's 500m dash, earning a time of 1:20.08, while Jacquenne Flowers finished twenty-first (1:35.27). In the 300m dash, Lashondra Wilbon crossed the line at tenth in a time of 41.93, ahead of Vanderlyn Watts, who came in nineteenth (44.33). On the men's side of the 300m, Montae Nelson came in seventeenth (41.26), just ahead of Johnareus Young at 18th (41.35).

Analisa Austin led the sprinters, collecting fifth place in the 60m dash, with a time of 7.64. On the men's side, Eric Cray finished seventh in 7.02 seconds, beating out Chris Jackson at eighth (7.21). As for hurdling sprints, Ryan Sanders led the B-CU women, finishing seventh in the 60m hurdles (8.98), while Crystal Bardge came in eighth at 9.73.

With many newcomers on the team, many of which contributing, this early season indoor meet was an excellent experience for the Wildcats of 09-10, gaining an opportunity to gauge where each athlete is competitively. Competing so early in December provides a full month of training in preparation for B-CU's next indoor competition. The Wildcats are next on the track for competition in early January of 2010.