by Benny Benton
FAIRFAX, Va. – Sophomore Heather Cuddington and freshman Nicolette Brown both broke Barton College indoor track records and five other Lady Bulldogs set new personal bests on Saturday at the Father Diamond Invitational, hosted by George Mason University.
Cuddington, running in her first collegiate indoor event, recorded a time of 11:11.03 in the 3000-meter run, easily surpassing the previous BC record of 12:05.71 set by teammate Lauren Yoho at the 2013 Conference Carolinas Championships. The former Beddingfield High School standout placed 11th in a field of 20 primarily NCAA Division I competitors in the event.
Brown, who shattered Barton's indoor shot put record in her first collegiate competition in December, improved upon her mark of 10.04 meters in that event by producing a toss of 10.22 meters on Saturday while competing in her home state of Virginia.
Senior Lauren Andreola finished just seven-tenths of a second behind Cuddington in the 3000-meter run with a time of 11:11.74 that also bettered the old school mark and improved upon her PR in the event by an entire minute.
Yoho, while losing her 3000-meter record to Cuddington, did set a new PR in the mile run, completing the distance in a time of 6:09.93. In doing so, she cut nearly three seconds off her previous low time. Also improving upon a PR was sophomore Alainah Taylor, who turned in a time of 27.45 seconds in the 200-meter dash to trim nearly a half-second off her previous best.
Two other runners established benchmark PRs by competing in an event for the first time in their careers. Tameeka Williford, a freshman from Goldsboro, N.C., made her collegiate debut in the 200-meter event, posting a time of 28.3 seconds. Senior Zorayda Rodriguez competed in the indoor 400-meters for the first time, recording a mark of 1:05.02.
Rodriguez, who missed matching her own school record in the long jump by seven one-hundredths of a meter in December's season-opener. The four-time indoor all-conference honoree came even closer on Saturday, leaping 5.32 meters to come within three one-hundredths of the 5.35 record.
The Lady Bulldogs will compete in the two-day Niswonger Invitational beginning Friday in Johnson City, Tenn. The event will be hosted by East Tennessee State University.
