Berry Track Teams Finish Third at Sewanee
Berry's men's and women's track teams each finished third at the Mountain Laurel Invitational, hosted by the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., Saturday.
Berry's men's showing was highlighted by victories by Matthew Rego in the 800 meters and Michael Sexton in the 1,500 meters, as well as a big win for a group of upperclassmen in a grudge match in the 4x400 meter relay.
Rego and Blake Bannister finished atop the standings in the 800 meters, with Rego running the race's lone sub-2:00 time at 1:59.80. Bannsiter came in next at 2:02.80.
Sexton led a contingent of four Vikings who scored points in the 1,500 meters, finishing the race with a time of 4:10.78, nearly 2 1/2 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Bert Harrison was third with a time of 4:13.34, while Jonathan Horn and Ryan James also put points on the board for Berry in the event.
Horn ran the event in a time of 4:18.65 to finish seventh, and James came in right behind Horn with a time of 4:18.77.
Berry's other competitors in the 1,500 included Josh Jones (9th, 4:20.68), Brandon Davis (10th, 4:29.80), Lucas Stocks (14th, 4:40.89), Dylan Munsey (16th, 4:42.82) and Chris White (4:48.09).
But for Berry, the most heavily anticipated race was the 4x400 meter relay, which featured the Vikings' team of upperclassmen Rego, Bannister, Horn and Harrison against, among other teams, the group of underclassmen Sexton, Davis, James and Stocks.
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, experience triumphed over youth, as the upperclassmen clocked a time of 3:37.96, compared to the young guns' time of 3:47.54.
Berry's men also received points from Chase Babineaux and Wiliam Anthony in the 5,000 meters, and Ian Adams in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Babineaux finished third in the 5,000 with a time of 16:52.54, two places ahead of Anthony, who recorded a time of 16:57.06.
Adams was the lone competitor in the steeplechase, clocking a time of 10:36.64.
On the women's side, Berry received second-place performances from Gabby Fulton, Anna Sons, Jennifer Cook and the the 4x400 meter relay team, as every runner scored points.
Fulton finished second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:28.85, while Sons led a contingent of five Berry runners with top-eight performances in the 1,500 meters.
Sons finished the race with a time of 5:05.64 to finish second in the 1,500 meters. Teammate Sara Walcott was third with a time of 5:08.94, Rosalyn Huard finished fifth with a time of 5:28.20, Casey Norris was sixth with a time of 5:32.41 and Allison Preg was eighth with a time of 5:35.88.
In the 5,000 meters, Berry's Jennifer Cook (19:01.89), Charlotte Collins (19:53.19), Lauren Hicks (21:41.70), Lauren Nation (22:04.33), Ellery Nash (22:10.04) and Katy Jordan (22:26.69) finished second through seventh, respectively.
Annalyse Barker was sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 31.74 and the 4x400 meter relay squad of Walcott, Huard, Sons and Fulton finished second with a time of 4:37.22.
Berry is scheduled to return to action April 9 at the Cumberlands Invitational.
- BerryVikings.com -