FAIRFAX, Va. - In Maryland's final tune-up before the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Championships next weekend, thirteen student-athletes set out to improve their marks at the George
Mason Spring Invitational on Saturday.
Men's hurdlers, women's throwers, and a stable of men's middle-distance runners headlined the day for the Terrapins, while the remainder of the team took the weekend off to prepare for the conference championships.
Tommy Friscia set a new personal-best in the 800-meter run, finishing in second place with a time of 1:50.50. Friscia's mark was the second-best time by an ACC athlete this season and earned the senior IC4A qualification. Calvin Wheeler and Jeff Dickson also ran their best times of the season in the event, crossing the finish line in 1:58.24 and 1:59.06 respectively.
Three Maryland student-athletes participated in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles this weekend. Junior Legonn Haskins improved upon his IC4A-qualifying mark, running the event in 14.53 seconds to take second place. Zach Ray finished just behind Haskins in 14.65 seconds to take fourth, and gained IC4A qualification with his preliminary time of 14.54. Joining the pair was sophomore Chris Parker, who ran a personal-best mark of 15.16 and finished in eighth place.
Zach Ray concluded his day with a second place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, posting a season-best mark of 53.92 seconds.
Women's throwers made a strong impression in multiple events on Saturday. Three Maryland athletes placed in the top five in the hammer throw. Kristen Batts and Moriah Young both had their best throws of the season, as Batts posted a mark of 156-04 to take second place and Young recorded a throw of 153-0 to take third. Sophomore Jessie Echard followed in fifth place with a mark of 145-04.25.
Batts also took second in the discus with a mark of 141-09.25, while Young produced strong results in the shot put, taking fourth at 44-08.75. Sophomore Alexandra Georgiou earned second overall in the javelin throw with a season-best mark of 101-02.25.
In the 1,500-meter run, Kyle Gaffney finished fourth with a time of 3:58.51. Freshman Josh Finkle posted his best time of the season in the event, finishing behind Gaffney in fifth place with a time of 4:01.04.
Maryland Notes:
Jessie Echard finished eleventh in the discus with a mark of 109-05. Craig Morgan finished sixteenth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:15.32.
