TOWSON, MD. – When you have been running track since the fourth grade having a small break is delightful, but for senior
Liz Reid coming back to compete with her teammates is what she has set out to do.
"It is exciting to be back practicing with the team and spend our time focusing and getting ready for this season," said Reid.
Towson University women's indoor track and field team travel to Blacksburg, Va. to compete in the Virginia Tech Invitational. The two-day meet is scheduled to take place in Rector Field House starting at 5 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
"It's always great to start back up again and we look forward to starting out at Virginia Tech, which is Towson's first time there," said Head Coach Mike Jackson. "We expect to leave our mark everywhere we go."
Leaving a mark is the stamp the Tigers like to do everywhere they go especially when they compete against teams for the first time.
"I am excited to run the 300 this meet because I usually only compete it in once a year and it will have some great competition, said Reid. "We have never competed at or against Virginia Tech before so it will be great to compete against some new schools."
The teams participating in the meet include Wake Forest, Radford (women), UNC-Charlotte, North Carolina A&T, Campbell, Norfolk State, VCU, UNC-Greensboro, Winthrop, Roanoke College and host Virginia Tech.
Admission for the meet is free and parking is located in the lots surrounding Rector Field House.
Last Time Out
The Tigers opening meet at the Navy Winter Invitational was highlighted with numerous school records and qualifying marks for the Eastern Athletic Conference Association (ECAC) championships.
Hayley Horvath won the pole vault with a school record and ECAC qualifying clearance of 3.90 meters (12 feet, 9.5 inches). Senior
Jaina McLean and freshmen
Shamika Burton and
Crystal Johnson all had qualifying times in the 60-meter dash. Senior
Phontavia Sawyer won the shot put and had an ECAC qualifying throw of 15.34 meters (50 feet, 04 inches). Juniors
Victoria Jones-Alleyne and
Helnsarah Penda qualified for the ECAC in the 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.69 seconds and 8.81, respectively.
Taylor Giles qualified with her throw of 16.73 meters-55 feet, 15 inches in the weight throw and
Liz Reid in the 200-meter dash.
Student-Spotlight
Each week Towson showcases the student-athletes in a brief video on twitter and Towson Sports Network. The spotlight is to promote and highlight the student-athletes accomplishments on and off the court/field and in the classroom. Be on the lookout for the spotlight on junior
Victoria Jones-Alleyne who in addition to being on the track team works with special need kids over the summer. Her spotlight is to be featured next Thursday, Jan. 17.
Tigers after Towson
Over the summer, Towson University learned that recent graduate
Megan Kelly joined the USA Olympic Bobsledding team. Kelly was a part of the track and field team all four years at Towson, competing in both indoor and outdoor seasons. Most recently, she broke the outdoor record in the 4x400-meter relay and 400-meter hurdles. She was nominated and won Towson Strength and Conditioning award, won the Towson Senior Achievement award and won the Towson SGA Leadership in Athletic Award. She was Student Athlete of the Year in 2017 too.
Tigers in the Community
- Towson is the Division I national champion of the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Competition for the fall 2018 semester. Towson completed the most community service hours among all schools in the competition, including 75 different Division I departments and approximately 300 total programs across the country.
- The team helped with serving food in the Tiger Zone during the James Madison football game on Nov. 18.
- Orchestrated by Reid, the elementary education major had the Tigers was also able to go to Logan Elementary School on Oct. 12 along with the cross country team to talk to the students about attending college. "I was able to co-organize a student athlete assembly for the 5th graders and it was awesome to have the team come get involved in the community," said Reid.
Coverage
There will be live stats presented by Flash Results: http://www.flashresults.com/results.htm
Up Next
The Tigers head to Pennsylvania for the Penn State National Friday, Jan. 25-26. Some of the Tigers will also head back to the Naval Academy for the Navy Invitational on Jan. 26.
