WOMEN'S TEAM MVP

MEN'S TEAM MVP

JONI GUFFEY

ELIJAH AJAYI

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Georgia Tech Invitational
(NCAA Championships tune-up for Guffey)
May 19, 2001

*Indicates Team record
^ Betters NCAA Division II Provisional Standard
Meet conditions: Clear, warm, 78-degrees

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS: This one was a tale of two teams as the women came away with the best performance. Junior Joni Guffey continued for her bid to make it to the NCAA Division II national meet with a gutsy 1500m victory in a very small field (four competitors). Joni took the lead from the start (71.1 for the first 400m) and held off a late challenge down the final 100m to improve on her provisional qualifying time -- also personal and team records. Lately, every time she steps on the track, Joni is re-writing our record book.

Sophomore Samantha DiBois equaled her best throw of the season in the discus, however she came up short of the NCAA provisional standard. She had her best meet of the season in terms of consistency while finishing second overall in another small field. Meantime, sophomore La'Keshia Hayes turned in solid efforts in both the long jump (sixth place) and 400m. Both her marks ranked among her bests of the year.

On the guys side, we were a little haggard. LeRoy Haynes, running in his final collegiate race, continued to be consistent in the 800m running his third straight under two minutes. Mike O'Donnell came back from a month layoff due to injury and raced a respectable 5,000m. Luis Monge, another senior running in his final race, could not overcome a tight hamstring, but gutted out his final 5,000m race. One other bright spot for the men was Elijah Ajayi in the triple jump. He equaled his second best jump of the year while finishing seventh.

It was a satisfying finish to the season for the ladies, but anti-climatic for the guys.

*Indicates Team record
Meet conditions: Sunny, hot, light wind, 88-degrees

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS: We held our own in this very competitive meet. Overall, we were a bit flat and I expected that coming off our greatest team effort the previous weekend in Illinois. On top of that, our kids were also coming off final exams that will emotionally drain the best ones. We still managed to break two team marks and several had either personal bests, or second-bests.

To begin on the women's side, congratulations to La'Keshia Hayes in lowering our 200m team best. She also ran her best 400m FAT (her 1:01.49 earlier this year was hand-timed) in a deep field. Samantha DiBois had our best individual finish with a fifth in the discus. She continues to improve and has one last shot at making the NCAA Division II Provisional mark of 144-0 feet. Her mark was the second best for her this season. Joni Guffey turned in another solid double as she recorded her second best times in the 1500 and 800. Finally, Cathy Wasserleben competed in her final meet as a Lady Laker with a respectable time in the 800m. Cathy is transferring to Auburn this fall (Good luck!).

The men's team was led by Elijah Ajayi's 12^th in the triple jump. His jump bettered his own team record and he ran a season-best in the 200m. LeRoy Haynes lowered his PR in the 800m while Tony Juarez had another strong double in the 800 and 1500. Cam Hinz ran a PR in the 400m despite running on a bad foot.

With final exams behind us, we can look forward to a solid week of training and rest as we prep for our final meet of the season. We'll once again be taking a small squad to this weekend's meet at Florida State. I'm looking forward to similar results this weekend that we experienced last week at SIUE. This will be our final push in getting folks qualified for nationals.

*Indicates Team record
# Betters NCAA Division II Provisional Standard
Meet conditions: Sunny, clear, calm to light wind, 78-degrees

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS: A fantastic night in Clayton State track & field history! We did not run the whole squad at this meet, but those who made the nine-hour trip made some history.

For the record, we set six team records, three firsts (should we count Luis' solo 10,000m?), our very first NCAA Provisional Qualifier and a memorable PR by one LeRoy Haynes. Despite the nine hours, we had our best fan support of the season, too!

Hats off to Joni Guffey with her stellar performance in the 1500m. Not only did she win the darn thing, not only did she break Mary Schwerdt's record by six seconds, not only did she better her own best by EIGHT SECONDS (!), but Joni became our first NCAA Provisional Qualifier. If she can improve about three seconds the next two meets, she'll be back in Edwardsville next month for the national meet. She finished the night by improving her own 800m record.

While I'm talking about the women's feats, kudos to Samantha DiBois for her victory in the discus. I truly thought that she'd make the provisional standard before Joni. She just didn't get the push she needed, but is primed for going "for all the marbles" at UGA. Samantha also improved on her team record in the hammer. Also, a nice triple by La'Keshia Hayes with solid fifths in the long jump and 400m. She took 8^th in the 200m and is less than two-tenths off that team record. Having the previous weekend off from competition may have thrown her out of whack, I believe she'll see very positive results the final two meets.

On the men's side, freshman Tony Juarez took our 1500m to a new level by becoming the first to run sub-four while earning the family bragging rights by breaking his brother Manny's team record. Later in the meet, Tony "helped" LeRoy run under 2:00 in the 800m. It marked the first time that we had two guys run sub-two in the same meet. It was tremendous to see LeRoy -- who has worked so hard in our program -- set this personal milestone. Nice going!

Our other two records, one involving LeRoy, came late in the meet. Luis Monge broke the oldest team record, dating back to 1998, with his effort in the 5,000m. LeRoy, Cam Hinz, Stephen Hughes and Russell Tolbert combined to lower our 4 x 400m record by almost three seconds. Cannot let Elijah Ajayi go unnoticed in another solid effort in four events.

A special thanks to the Guffey, Hayes, Haynes and Juarez families for turning out to see these great efforts by our men and women. It was also good to see former Lady Laker Candy Ard who came to give her support, too.

Believe it or not, the best is still yet to come this season!

MEN'S RESULTS
Cumberland Invitational @ Williamsburg, Ky.
April 21, 2001

# one lap short
Meet conditions: Partly sunny, windy, 77-degrees

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Cumberland Invitational @ Williamsburg, Ky.
April 21, 2001

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS: An excellent showing in this always quality meet. The number of teams competing in the meet was down from the previous two years, but we made the most of it. The Top three in each event earned T-shirts and just about every one of our kids came home with at least one! Surprisingly, this was the first meet that we did not set a team record this season.

First off, kudos to Tony Juarez (FR, East Hazel Crest, Ill.) for his double-win in the 1500m and anchoring the 4 x 800m. His time in the 1500m was 0.23 off his brother Manny's team record set last year. Tony may just earn the family bragging rights to the record by the end of the season.

Luis Monge (SR, Palmdale, Calif.) had another solid meet in the 10,000m. He placed second and was on pace to better his own record, but the officials miscounted a lap and he finished a lap short, as did the rest of the field.

Elijah Ajayi (FR, Riverdale, Ga.) and Cam Hinz (SO, Jonesboro, Ga.) had solid meets. Elijah's best finish was a third in the triple jump while Cam was third in the windy 400m and a member of the winning 4 x 800m team.

On the women's side, we ran only three but all contributed. Joni Guffey (JR, Frankfort, Ky.) led the squad with a pair of seconds in the 800m and 1500m. Samantha DiBois (SO, Cochran, Ga.) had another solid double in the shot put and discus while Melody Bogan (SO, College Park, Md.) had her best collegiate time in the 800m.

A few of our guys (LeRoy Haynes, Jake McLemore, Mike O'Donnell, Russell Tolbert) were a little banged up, but they'll be ready for the stretch run. We're down to three meets left in the

*Indicates Team record

*Indicates Team record
^Indicates Meet record

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS

A very nice job in this low-key meet! We had some fun while adding a couple of trophies to our growing collection of hardware. The guys won their first-ever outdoor meet and the ladies (all five of them!) did a terrific job finishing third. I was not looking for fast times or marks, but we still came away with six team records and a bunch of first place finishes.

Have to give the iron-man award to Elijah Ajayi (FR, Riverdale, Ga.) who competed in seven events and figured in on all four records set on the day for the men's team. He was only three short of completing a decathlon over a four hour span. Luis Monge (SR, Palmdale, Calif.) had a nice (and interesting) triple -- the 5,000m, 3,000m steeplechase and the 200m! Also Cam Hinz (SO, Jonesboro, Ga.) and Russell Tolbert (FR, Lithonia, Ga.) looked good on the relays and LeRoy Haynes (SR, Robbins, Ill.), Stephen Hughes (SO, Hampton, Ga.) and Tony Juarez (FR, East Hazel Crest, Ill.) were solid in the middle distance events.

La'Keshia Hayes (SO, Lithonia, Ga.) led the women's squad with team records in the long jump and 400m, while winning the both events. Joni Guffey (JR, Frankfort, Ky.) and Samantha DiBois (SO, Cochran, Ga.) had nice double-wins. Joni took the 800m and 1500m runs while Samantha swept the shot put and discus events.

We're now at the halfway point of the season and we'll begin to prepare and rest for the competitive meets that lie ahead. Next week's meet at Cumberland College should prove to be a turning point for our young program. I'm really looking forward to the next three weeks!

MEN'S RESULTS
Mt. Laurel Relays @ Sewanee, Tenn.
April 7, 2001

*Indicates Team record

*Indicates Team record

COACH MEAD'S COMMENTS:

Oh my! This has to go down as the best day in Clayton State Track & Field history, and we're only talking four years. With a combination of eight team records, four first places, and several personal and season personal-bests, this was the best team effort by both squads.

Kudos to our meet winners, Samantha DiBois in the discus, Joni Guffey in the 1500m, Russell Tolbert in the high jump and our men's 4 x 800m relay! Samantha is rapidly closing in on the NCAA Division II Provisional standard for the discus (143-0) as she came within 13 inches of the mark. Joni lowered her PR and held off a charging challenger at the finish for the win in the 1500m. Russell won the high jump in similar fashion in a jump-off. I was perhaps proudest of the 4 x 800 team of LeRoy Haynes, Cam Hinz, Stephen Hughes and Tony Juarez for not only winning the event, but also (and finally) bettering the team mark. For Cam, who also got second in the 400, it was his first 800m of the season!

Our jumpers in La'Keshia Hayes and Elijah Ajayi continue to make progress in their respective events. Elijah has shown the biggest improvement. He began the season around 37-6 in the triple and has improved over five feet! La'Keshia not only improved the long jump record, but is within two-tenths of a second of getting the 400m record. She and teammates Joni, Melody Bogan and Cathy Wasserleben blasted the 4 x 800m record and turned in the best time of the season in the 4 x 400.

Our hard work is beginning to pay off and it shows! I'm looking for big dividends come the last two weeks of April and the UGA meet on May 5. Finally, welcome aboard Micah Meredith who ran in his first collegiate meet!

MEN'S RESULTS
Emory Classic @ Atlanta, Ga.
March 30-31, 2001