Saturday, March 5, 2016

Xavier Nuggets' Allen sets school record in season opener

CLARKE ALLEN
Height: 5-4
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Mendenhall, Mississippi
High School: Mendenhall
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore Clarke Allen triple-jumped 35 feet, 7 3/4 inches (10.86 meters) Friday to break a women's school record in the Tulane Invitational at Tad Gormley Stadium.
    
It was Xavier's first meet of the outdoor track and field season. There was no team scoring.
    
Allen, who finished second in the event, broke the XU record of 35-5 3/4 (10.81 meters) set by Chelsea Broussard at the 2013 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships. Allen's best mark of 2015 was 33-7 1/2 (10.25 meters).
    
The record is Allen's second at Xavier. She's a member of the 400-meter relay squad which set that mark at the 2015 NAIA National Championships.
    
Xavier posted three other top-3 finishes. Chelsea James, Destini Thomas, Katelynn McMorris and Allen placed third in the 400 relay (48.69 seconds), and Allen, Kailey Williams, Terri Cunningham and Kayla Quincy ran third in the 1,600 relay (4:00.22). For Xavier's men, freshman Keairez Coleman was third in the triple jump in 43-9 (13.33) — the best Gold Rush mark of the last four seasons.
    
Senior Christopher Kennie was fifth in the long jump at 21-6 1/4 (6.56), his best mark since April 2013. Destini Thomas' time of 12.74 in the women's 100 was 22 hundredths of a second faster than her top time a year ago.
    
"It was a good start to the season," XU coach Joseph Moses said. "We got to see a lot of our athletes in action and a lot of new faces. There were quite a few nervous people — lots of friends, classmates and family members watching — but we overcame our nerves. We'll learn from this and start working on dropping times and better marks in the upcoming meets."
    
Xavier will compete three more times this month, beginning with the McNeese Cowboy Relays at Lake Charles, La., March 12.
    
Here are all the Xavier results from the Tulane Invitational:
     
Women     
100:  Destini Thomas, 8th in 12.74     
1,500:  Maliya Vaughn, 5th in 5:15.32; Brianna Pace, 6th in 5:16.07     
100 Hurdles:  Tylor Row, 9th in 15.85; Terri Cunningham, 14th in 18.75     
400 Relay:  Chelsea James, Destini Thomas, Clarke Allen, Katelyn McMorris, 3rd in 48.69; Martina Wright, Dorian Hill, Janelle Jones, Alexis Milton, 5th in 50.08.     
800:  Maliya Vaughn, 5th in 2:29.53; Brianna Pace, 7th in 2:31.61; Dionysia Love, 9th in 2:40.49
1,600 Relay:  Clarke Allen, Kailey Williams, Terri Cunningham, Kayla Quincy, 3rd in 4:00.22; Alexis Milton, Janelle Jones, Chinyere Jones, Ky'Reon McBride, 5th in 4:09.65
3,000:  Dionysia Love, 5th in 11:39.41; Hannah Finnegan, 7th in 13:21.92
200:  Kayla Quincy, 13th in 26.52; Alexis Milton, 14th in 26.60; Katelyn McMorris, 16th in 26.76; Martina Wright, 17th in 26.79; Kee-Myah Henderson, 19th in 27.29; Chelsea James, 20th in 27.81
400:  Ky'Reon McBride, 8th in 1:01.56; Janelle Jones, 9th in 1:01.78
Javelin:  Drew Chatters, 6th in 34.40 meters (112 feet, 10 inches)
Long Jump:  Dorian Hill, 6th in 4.86 meters (15 feet, 11 1/2 inches); Katelyn McMorris, 8th in 4.50 meters (14 feet, 9 1/4 inches)
High Jump:  Terri Cunningham, 5th in 1.50 meters (4 feet, 11 inches); Chinyere Jones, 6th in 1.45 meters (4 feet, 9 inches)

Men
200:  Ethan Gipson, 14th in 23.48
3,000:  Christopher August, 9th in 9:50.49; Darrick Williams, 11th in 10:35.40
800:  Ammiel Williams, 11th in 2:04.71; Felipe Perrier, 15th in 2:22.59
400:  Ammiel Williams, 11th in 54.61; Felipe Perrier, 12th in 56.98 
Triple Jump:  Keairez Coleman, 3rd in 13.33 meters (43 feet, 9 inches); Christopher Kennie, 6th in 11.79 meters (38 feet, 8 1/4 inches)
Long Jump: Christopher Kennie, 5th in 6.56 meters (21 feet, 6 1/4 inches); Keairez Coleman, 11th in 6.19 meters (20 feet, 3 3/4 inches)


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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