Dec. 6, 1997

Terrapin Track Team Runs Through Several States

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Men's Track & Field team opened its indoor season this weekend with not one, but three meets.

They began on Friday, Decemeber 6th in the midst of some tough competition at the Navy Invitational. The men's team was led by the strong performances of juniors Asa Heath and Jamie Wu, who both qualified for IC4A competition. Heath finished the 55m high hurdles in 7.6 seconds for second place.

Wu, also a football player for the Terps, notched his career best throw in the shot put at 53 feet, 3.75 inches, which was also good for second place. The distance medley team of junior Matt Green, senior Carter Bova, and freshmen Aaron Hayes and Andy Phillips also qualified for IC4A's with a 10 minute, 19 second race. While earning a career best time of 50.1 seconds in the 400 meters, junior Richard Mahy narrowly missed qualifying by only one-tenth of a second.

Freshman Nyema Morais surprised himself with a 6th place triple jump of 46 feet, 4 inches despite injuring himself in the middle of the competition. Following the meet at Navy, the majority of the men's team traveled to Lewisburg, PA for the West Virginia's Holiday Classic on Saturday, where the Terrapins won several key events. The highlight was freshman Michael Hughes clearing 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump to qualify for IC4A competition in only the second collegiate meet of his career.

Other wins came for junior Trevor Graves in the 200 meters (22.99 seconds) and junior Jason Joubert in the 400 meters (50.02 seconds).

Graves also placed third in the 55 meter dash (6.65 seonds), and Joubert also won second in the 800 meters (one minute, 56.1 seconds). Senior distance runners Bobby Van Allen and Greg Hunger took second and third in the mile, with Van Allen also earning third place in the 3000 meter run.

A different set of Terrapins traveled to the West Viriginia Invitational on Saturday, December 6th to compete in the pentathlon. Juniors Jeff Williams, Micheal Kuta, and Rodney McIlwain placed second, third, and eighth respectively.

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