by Benny Benton
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Sophomore Kelsey Poole broke her own Barton indoor school record in the shot put, and teammates Jasmine Watson and Courtney Ricks both qualified for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles during track and field competition over the weekend at the ETSU Invitational.
Poole, a resident of Oakboro, N.C., recorded a toss of 11.65 meters in the shot put, improving slightly upon her previous school record of 11.60 meters set last month in the season-opener. The effort earned her 16th place in a field of 43, one of five top-20 finishes for the Lady Bulldogs in the meet, which was hosted by East Tennessee State University.
Watson and Ricks, both from Suffolk, Va., finished seventh and eighth, respectively, out of 44 competitors in the preliminary round of the 60-meter hurdles on Friday, and in doing so earned spots in Saturday's finals. Both recorded times of 9.17 seconds, which for Ricks was a personal record.
In the finals, Watson raced to a fourth-place finish with a mark of nine seconds flat, while Ricks placed sixth with a time of 9.25 seconds.
Senior Sharon Kiptoo accounted for the remaining top-20 performances, recording 14th-place finishes in both the 800-meter run (2:25.15) and the mile (5:29.41).
In addition to her PR in the 60-meter hurdles, Ricks also established a new personal best in the 200-meter dash (27.67). Sophomore Meghan Araldi also earned a PR in the 5000-meter run (21:10.74).
Barton will return to action next Saturday when it competes in the Wake Forest Invitational.
