May 13, 2007
SEC Track and Field Championships Final Results
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Senior Erika Schneble provided a rare Commodore highlight at the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships Sunday, finishing fourth in the 5,000-meter run.
Schneble, from Hendersonville, N.C., edged Florida junior Lindsay Sundell for fourth with a 16:35.11 performance. Commodore sophomore Carman Mims supported Schneble with an eighth place finish in the race. Mims ran 16:58.87 for the 5,000-meter distance.
Despite the performances by Schneble and Mims, the SEC meet was a disappointment for the Commodores. The women’s team finished the competition in 12th place with 12 points. LSU captured the women’s division with 139.5 points, well ahead of runnerup Arkansas and third place Georgia.
The finish allowed Schneble to become the first Commodore distance runner to place at three different SEC outdoor championships. Previously, Schneble won the 5,000 in 2004 and finished second last year at the same distance.
When Schneble and Mims went to the starting line, they faced one of the deepest 5,000-meter fields ever assembled at the SEC Championships. The competition included Georgia senior Jill Steffens, winner of the SEC 10,000-meter run Friday; Georgia junior Sarah Madebach, record-breaking victor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Saturday; and Arkansas junior Dacia Barr, winner of the 1,500-meter run earlier Sunday. Also competing were 10,000-meter runnerup Denise Bargiachi of Arkansas and Sundell, runnerup in the steeplechase.
Schneble controlled much of the race. Taking the lead approaching the mile mark, Schneble pushed the pace for more than a mile until the Georgia duo of Steffens and Madebach edged ahead with two laps remaining. In the final 400, Schneble withstood Sundell’s challenge, but could not hold off the strong kick of Barr, a national title contender in the 1,500.
Steffens successfully completed the 10,000-5,000 double with a 16:23.80 performance. Madebach finished second in 16:27.04 while Barr ran third in 16:27.91.
Mims, competing at her first SEC outdoor meet, ran a game race, and battled pre-race favorite Christine Kalmer of Arkansas to the finish line in an attempt ot secure seventh. The Razorback sophomore topped Mims by less than a second. A third Commodore, sophomore Amanda Scott, finished 22nd in 17:45.31.
In other action Sunday involving Commodores, senior Brittany Sizer narrowly missed scoring points in the 1,500-meter run. After advancing in the preliminaries Saturday, Sizer finished ninth overall with a 4:35.29 performance. Though Sizer missed scoring points for the Commodores, she does conclude a successful final campaign that included making the SEC indoor mile and SEC outdoor 1,500-meter finals.
Senior Garnetta Holloway also finished 10th in the individual javelin Sunday. Her best effort in the competition, 133’2″, was nearly 12 feet short of the superb throw Holloway achieved Friday while securing a third place finish in the heptathlon.
The Commodores’ 4×400-meter relay foursome of sophomore Lauryn Smith, junior Amani Floyd, junior Lauren Fortson and Holloway also finished ninth. The 3:45.89 performance was five seconds faster than the unit’s fastest previous time this season.
On Saturday, senior Ashleigh Wetzel struggled in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Ranked fifth entering the race, Wetzel finished 11th overall in 11:08.23, more than 30 seconds off her best at the distance. Junior teammate Val Kazmer topped Wetzel, finishing 10th in 11:03.07. Sophomore long jumper Lauryn Smith approached her career best with a leap of 19’6.25″, but finished 13th overall.
