TCU Wraps 2011 MWC Championships with Eight Titles Saturday

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The TCU track and field team swept the 100-meter and 200-meter titles Saturday on the way to winning eight gold medals for the day to conclude the 2011 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships at the Jack Christiansen Track on the campus of Colorado State University.

“I thought we had some quality performances today,” TCU head coach Darryl Anderson said. “Obviously, coming into the Mountain West Conference Championships, we are not happy leaving in third and fourth place. We had some mishaps, including getting disqualified in the women’s 4×100 relay and Festus Kigen dropping out in the men’s 5,000 meters, but on a positive note, Charles Silmon was outstanding and Marks Barnes had a really good meet. I thought our sprinters did really well.”

“On the women’s side, Jessica Young and Teneshia Peart both had a really good day, a workman-like day. Whitney Gipson still stands out from yesterday, jumping 21 feet, eight inches in the long jump. All in all, you take the positives and now we have to get ready for the first round of the NCAA meet in two weeks. From a character standpoint, I thought we performed really well in these elements. You are talking about competing in forty-degree weather in May. That’s not necessarily track weather. You just have to bite the bullet and go do it and our kids did that this weekend.”
     
Following the meet, sophomore Charles Silmon was honored with the Men’s Most Outstanding Performer award for the second year in a row and marking the third time in program history TCU has garnered the prestigious honor. Former Frog Otis McDaniel was the first TCU athlete to accept the award from the MWC in 2006.

Silmon started the day by anchoring the Purple and White’s 4×100 relay squad to gold medal honors. The Waco, Texas native anchored the event, joining OJ Stoneham, Mark Barnes and Mychal Dungey to a top time of 39.91. TCU has never lost the men’s 4×100 since joining the league six years ago.

Silmon returned to the track to blaze to defend his title in the men’s 100-meter dash, earning gold by clocking in at 10.32. He finished just ahead of runner-up Barnes, while newcomer Jeffrey Josephs and Stoneham finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Looking for his third gold medal of the day, Silmon paced the field in the men’s 200-meters at 20.56. Barnes again claimed runner-up accolades, followed by Dungey with bronze medal honors and Stoneham in fourth overall. TCU has never lost the men’s 100- or 200-meters since joining the league in 2005-06.

The Frogs also entered the weekend having won the previous three titles in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Senior Jordan Pitts put a punctuation mark on his Mountain West career Saturday, claiming his fourth-straight gold medal in the event. He is the first athlete in MWC history to win the men’s 110-meter title in four-straight seasons.

Junior Cameron Parker won the final gold medal on the men’s side for the Frogs, soaring 15.29m (50-2) in the men’s triple jump to edge out BYU’s Kyle Mills (15.28m) by a centimeter. In his first season at TCU, Parker picked up the MWC triple jump title in both indoor and outdoor seasons.

Other highlights on the men’s side include junior Jack O’Brien earning the silver medal in the 800 meters, while Matt love accepting bronze honors in the 400 meters. The 4×400 squad of Love, Pitts, Lavon Collins and O’Brien ended the day with a silver medal time of 3:09.60.

For the TCU women, senior Jessica Young was outstanding in the 100- and 200 meters. The Columbia, S.C., product took the 100-meter title by clocking a new venue record of 11.40. Sophomore Chaniqua Corinealdi took third place honors in the event, ahead of newcomer Veronica Jones in fifth and Teneshia Peart in seventh.

Young would later pace the field in the 200-meter dash with a gold-medal time of 23.45. Corinealdi would again gather bronze medal honors, while Peart and Jones finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Sophomore Quinterra Charles turned it up in the women’s 400 meters, running 53.84 to garner the silver medal, while newcomer Briyanni Thomas followed for third place honors.

TCU’s 4×400 relay squad of Thomas, Charles, Peart and Young rounded out the MWC Championships Saturday, rallying around the oval at a time of 3:37.86 for the women’s final gold medal of the weekend.

Other highlights on the women’s side include sophomore Kelsey Samuels and senior Stormy Harrison finishing back-to-back for silver and bronze, respectively, in the shot put.

Overall, the TCU women placed third overall in the team standings, behind champion BYU, while the Frogs’ men ended the weekend in fourth place.

TCU will now prepare for the NCAA West Regional, May 26-28 in Eugene, Ore.