ANDERSON, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's outdoor track and field teams competed at the two-day Electric City Invitational on Friday and Saturday, with competition on Saturday stopped early due to the weather.
The Pioneers had record-setting performance in both the men's and women's 400 meters, with junior Chazz Alexander setting a new school record in the men's 400 and sophomore Qitarah Castlin in the women's 400. Tusculum also swept the men's and women's 4x100 relay and had the top qualifiers in both the women's 100 and 100 hurdles.
The meet was called off shortly before finals in the men's and women's hurdles and 100 meters. Events not held included the 400 hurdles, 200 meters and 4x400 relay, and several flights of field events were unable to compete.
The Pioneers will head to Knoxville to compete in the Tennessee Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11.
MEN'S RECAP
Alexander ran 47.00 in the 400 meters to finish second overall and break the program record of 47.13 seconds set by Zack Nelson at the 2022 SAC Championship. Freshman Lamarkus Dunn was fourth with a time of 48.13 seconds, which is third on the program performance list in the event.
Sophomore Tinotenda Musariri was third in the 100 meters at 10.73 seconds, with junior Lansford Cunningham taking eighth at 10.85 seconds. In the 110 hurdles, freshman Ivan Garcia Rubio ran third at 15.13 seconds, and grad student Jaal Cash finished seventh at 15.97 seconds.
The 4x100 relay of Musariri, Cunningham, Alexander and Dunn placed first at 41.09 seconds, a season-best time in the event for the Pioneers.
On Friday, freshman Tomas Ribeiro placed second in the invitational mile run at 4:12.53, with freshman Albert Ziegler taking fourth in the open mile at 4:22.48.
In the decathlon, sophomore Justin Williams was second with 5,404 points and junior Nour Nabi took third at 5,099 points. Williams' top event was the 110 hurdles, where he accumulated 768 points with a time of 15.69 seconds, while Nabi's top event was the 100 meters where his time of 11.65 seconds gave him 721 points.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Castlin's time of 55.72 seconds in the 400 meters slipped past the previous school record of 55.75 seconds set by Tashianna Gray at last year's SAC Championship. Castlin was third in the event, with junior Kialia Claiborne in seventh at 58.14 seconds.
Senior Jahzara Hart won the 100 meters in 11.62 seconds, followed by junior Alonda Shelton in sixth at 12.41 seconds. Sophomore Kori Moore was the winner in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.18 seconds, with Claiborne in fifth at 15.68 seconds and junior Kieley Smith in ninth place at 16.07 seconds.
The 4x100 relay of Castlin, senior Shanice Cox, Moore and Hart was first overall at 44.47 seconds, the third-fastest time in program history behind the preliminaries and finals of last year's NCAA Championship.
In the 800 meters, senior Jesica Mbhamali placed eighth overall and had the third-best time in program history with a career-best mark of 2:21.07.
In field events, sophomore Agustina Dittrich was sixth in the javelin at 28.77 meters (94 feet, 4 inches) and seventh in the long jump at 4.97 meters (16 feet, 3 3/4 inches), with Smith in sixth in the long jump at 5.01 meters (16 feet, 5 1/4 inches).
Electric City Invitational
Tusculum results
MEN
100: 3. Tinotenda Musariri, 10.73; 8. Lansford Cunningham, 10.85; 20. Kayvon Pickett, 11.35.
110 hurdles: 3. Ivan Garcia Rubio, 15.13; 7. Jamal Cash, 15.97.
400: 2. Chazz Alexander, 47.00 (school record); 4. Lamarkus Dunn, 48.13; 17. Tomas Figueiras, 51.01; 18. Marshae McDonald, 51.14; 19. Cedric Stewart II, 51.24; 34. Darien Humphreys, 57.37.
800: 11. Levi Carson, 2:02.90.
Mile (open): 4. Albert Ziegler, 4:22.48.
Mile (invite): 2. Tomas Ribeiro, 4:12.53.
5000: 14. Casen Davis, 16:20.86; 21. Coen Morgan, 16:33.29.
4x100: 1. Tusculum (Musariri, Cunningham, Alexander, Dunn), 41.09.
High jump: 8. Cedric Stewart II, 1.70m (5-7).
Decathlon: 2. Justin Williams, 5,404 pts.; 3. Nour Nabi, 5,099 pts.
WOMEN
100: 1. Jahzara Hart, 11.62; 6. Alonda Shelton, 12.41; 26. Jasmine Johnson, 14.36.
100 hurdles: 1. Kori Moore, 14.18; 5. Kialia Claiborne, 15.68; 9. Kieley Smith, 16.07.
400: 3. Qitarah Castlin, 55.72 (school record); 7. Kialia Claiborne, 58.14; 11. Shanice Cox, 58.90.
800: 8. Jesica Mbhamali, 2:21.07; 15. Abby Counter, 2:29.19; 23. Tristen Douthat, 2:39.74.
Mile: 11. Ruby Groves, 5:54.84.
4x100: 1. Tusculum (Castlin, Cox, Moore, Hart), 44.47.
High jump: 10. Kieley Smith, 1.45m (4-9).
Javelin: 6. Agustina Dittrich, 28.77m (94-4).
Long jump: 6. Kieley Smith, 5.01m (16-5 1/4); 7. Agustina Dittrich, 4.97m (16-3 3/4).
