March 7, 2014 (Jackson) - The Blazer Men's and Women's Track and Field had a historic day on Saturday, March 1 and competed in their inaugural track and field event at the James E. Parkman Track for the Mississippi College Season Opener. The women finished 10th and the men turned in a solid 8th place finish in their debuts at the event.
"We had a great first day and couldn't have asked for much better in an opening meet," Belhaven Head Coach Caleb Synder said. "We had some really good performances and to have it happen this early in the year is really exciting. I'm excited to see how the team will progress over the next couple of months. I really look forward to seeing what this group can put together at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships in late April."
On the women's side, junior Vinnessa Barthelomew produced a pair of impressive performances in the 100 and 200 meter dash. Barthelomew placed second out of 23 runners with a time of 12.22 seconds in the 100 meter and followed that up with a fourth place finish in the 200 meter event. Her official time of 25.37 seconds was better than 26 other runners.
Sophomore Joshua Reed got things rolling for the men with a second place finish in the high jump. Reed produced a 6'6 jump and just missed qualifying for nationals. In the 400 meter dash, sophomore Jermaine Metz in his first ever track and field event posted a third place finish out of 23 runners with a time of 49.24 seconds. Metz cruised to a first place finish in his heat.
In the 100 meter dash, senior Patrick Wilson crossed the line in the eighth spot with a time of 11.07 seconds and then helped the Blazers to a third place finish in the 4x400 meter relay. William Johnson, Benjamin Storment, and Metz joined Wilson to produce a time of 3:29.07.