FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Barton College men's and women's track and field teams moved into outdoor season on a high note with a strong performance at the Mary Washington Opener at the Battleground Athletic Complex.
On the women's side, the Bulldogs were led by freshman Danyetta Ruffin (Newport News, Va.) with a pair of first-place finishes in the 100-meter (12.66) and 200-meter (25.67) dashes. Ruffin earned Conference Carolinas qualifying marks in both events and hit a 12.55 in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash.
The women's 400-meter relay squad – consisting of Ruffin, sophomore Syaani Harris (Ashland, Va.) and freshmen Takeitha Glaspie (Goldsboro, N.C.) and Taylynn Blunt (Hampton, Va.) – finished first overall as well with a time of 50.01 for the Bulldogs. Glaspie also took runner-up in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.66 and Blunt qualified for the league meet thanks to her third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (15.56).
Barton junior Janae Cunningham (Hubert, N.C.) led the field events for the women's squad which included second-place finishes in both the hammer throw (129'7") and shot put (35'1"), marks good enough to qualify for the conference meet in April.
In the men's competition, Barton junior Micah Clemons (Greenville, N.C.) won the men's hammer throw with a league qualifying mark of 167'0" while freshman Jimere Summers (Kinston, N.C.) placed third overall in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.14 seconds – another qualifying mark to the conference meet for the Bulldogs.
The quartet of the men's 1,600-meter relay for Barton – freshmen Peter Charles (Naples, Fla.), Timothy DeVore (Loganville, Ga.) and Deshawn Owens (Pikeville, N.C.) and sophomore Greg Gibbs (Newark, N.J.) – placed second overall with a 3.36.89.
The Barton outdoor track and field teams next compete in the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, in Rock Hill, S.C.
Full Results
