WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Senior Allyson Oram’s conference championship in the 3,000-meters race highlighted the Elon women’s track and field team’s first day at the 2014 Southern Conference Indoor Championships on Saturday, March 1, inside the JDL Fast Track Complex. The Phoenix currently sits in fourth place with 33 points after the first day of competition.
Oram broke her own school-record in the race after the clocked in a time of 9:34.97 – breaking her previous indoor personal-best by nearly seven seconds – and earned her first career SoCon championship.
“Allyson just executed the race plan perfectly,” said Elon head cross country and assistant track and field coach Christine Engle. “She ran the race so tough and so perfectly and when she made a move she did so with such authority. It’s such a great feeling for her to get her first individual SoCon championship after she has been so close the past few years.”
Elyse Bierut was fifth overall in the 3,000-meters and earned a spot on the league’s All-Freshman team after running new personal-best time of 10:05.97.
Sydney Griffin tied her school-record in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles qualifying for the finals with a prelim-best time of 8.56. Jennifer Esposito also qualified for the finals tomorrow with a time of 9.02. Griffin also ran the fifth-fastest qualifying time in the 200-meters after clocking in a 25.04 in the race.
Charlise Morgan earned All-Conference honors after setting a new school-record and finishing as the runner-up in the shot put. The Upper Marlboro, Mass., native had a toss of 48’6” (14.78m) in the event while freshman Breanna Warren made the All-Freshman team with her throw of 43’1.50” (13.14m), ninth overall.
The maroon and gold took the three through five positions in the preliminaries of the 400-meter dash. Jennifer Pash was the top finisher for Elon with a qualifying time of 57.19 and third overall. Bria Bell was fourth with a time of 57.83 while Esposito was not far behind with her time of 58.12.
Freshman Carrie Abraham made the All-Freshman team in a pair of events. The Winchester, Mass., native was fifth overall in the long jump with a leap of 18’7.75” (5.72m) and finished tied for seventh in the high jump with a cleared height of 5’5” (1.65m) along with teammates Haley Laird and Megan Kirschling.
Tereza Novotna qualified for the finals in the one-mile run with a time of 5:09.2, sixth overall.
The second and final day of the meet will conclude tomorrow, March 2, beginning at 9:15 a.m.