JONESBORO, Ark. (4/3/10) - Arkansas State senior Jesse Williams took over first place in the conference with a second-place finish in the discus throw Saturday during the final day of the Joey Haines Invitational. Williams' throw of 177-09 was just off the lead, but was a personal best for the thrower.
Sophomore Corwin Pace finished fourth in the same event for the Red Wolves posting a 170-11, which if it survives the weekend, will be the third-best mark in the conference.
"We definitely got a better meet this week from our athletes," said ASU head coach Lon Badeaux. "This is a step in the right direction towards where we want to be when conference time comes around. I am proud of the way they competed and there are some good marks that we have set moving towards conference championships."
On the women''s side of the throwing events, freshman Julia Agawu continued to impress finishing third in the discus with a personal best 155-00 and taking 11th in the hammer at 146-06. Sophomore thrower Jamie Flemming finished just ahead of Agawu in the hammer with a throw of 150-03 good enough for 10th place.
ASU's pole vaulters returned to form when they finished first through third on the women's side led by sophomore Stephanie Foreman who jumped at 3.75+. Senior Catheryn Frappier was second at 3.75 followed by Erica Naeger who was third at 3.50.
In the men's pole vault the Red Wolves took two top-five finishes with seniors Jeremy Willis and David Starnes finishing in third and fourth places, respectively. Both Willis and Starnes achieved the 4.50 mark.
For the second-straight week senior Caitlin Winey posted personal bests in the 100 and 400 meter hurdles. Winey placed second in the 100 meter race with a time of 14.29 and was fourth in the 400 at 1:01.79.
Junior distance runner James Ngwiri turned in a third-place finish in the men's 5K, running a 15:26.03 while junior Dawn L'Heureaux was third on the women's side with an 18:50.81.
Junior Henry Ndichu finished second in the men's steeplechase with a time of 9:52.65 while Chelsea Weaver was fourth in the women's steeplechase at 12:06.67.
In the team rankings, ASU finished fourth on the men's side and fifth on the women's posting 82 and 83 points, respectively.
ASU returns to competition at the Ole Miss Invitational next Saturday.
