Sea Gull teams sit in second place following first day of Mason-Dixon Championships

SALISBURY, Md. – With four events completed, the Salisbury University men’s and women’s track & field teams each sit in second place following Friday’s first day of competition in the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The teams combined for three second-place finishes and qualified first in a pair of preliminary races on Friday afternoon.

The Salisbury women claimed two of the second-place finishes with sophomore Jennifer Houghton (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) placing second in the hammer throw, with a distance of 137’ 2” and sophomore Lindsey Metzler (Cooksville, Md.) clearing a height of 4’ 11” to take second in the high jump.

Metzler and sophomore Amanda Zyzak (Damascus, Md.) brought in points by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump. Each athlete covered a distance of more than 17 feet. Zyzak will look to collect a few more points on Saturday, as she qualified second-fastest for the women’s 100 meter dash finals with a time of 12.75 seconds.

Junior Masha Berge (Potomac, Md.) led a contingent of Salisbury runners that placed third, fourth and fifth in the 10,000 meter run. Berge finished in a time of 41:32.42 followed by fellow juniors Emily Hammonds (Richmond, Va.) and Liz Tollett (Severna Park, Md.).

The hammer competition was where the men claimed their second-place finish. Sophomore Jay Drenner (Eldersburg, Md.) had a top distance of 146 feet, he was one of three Sea Gulls to score in the event as senior Brandon Fugett (Randallstown, Md.) took third and sophomore Zach Means (Westminster, Md.) finished sixth.

Junior Brandon Lane (Hillsborough, N.J.) claimed a third-place finish in the high jump, clearing 6’ 2.75” while freshman Corey Blain (Frederick, Md.) took fourth.

The Salisbury men had three of the six scorers in the 10,000 meter run, led by a third-place finish from sophomore Trent Seawell (Forest Hill, Md.) with a time of 33:46.66. Classmates Trevor Keen (Crownsville, Md.) and David Toller (Columbia, Md.) finished in fourth and sixth, respectively.

The Sea Gulls qualified well as seniors Delannie Spriggs (Owings, Md.) and Cory Beebe (Medina, Ohio) will be the top seeds in the 100 meter dash and 110 meter hurdle finals, respectively, on Saturday. Spriggs ran his preliminary in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 10.73 seconds while Beebe’s hurdle time of 14.79 seconds was also an NCAA provisional time, and nearly three quarters of a second ahead of the next closest qualifier.

The final day of competition will begin at 10 a.m., on Saturday, with the shot put, discus and triple jump competitions. The track events will begin at 12:30 p.m., with the running of the 3,000 meter steeplechase. The Salisbury men won the Mason-Dixon outdoor championship in 2009 and won the indoor title this season. The Sea Gull women’s team claimed the outdoor title in 2007.

Mason-Dixon Championship Day One Standings