Track And Field Kicks Off The Outdoor Season At The Shamrock Invitational
3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
KENT, Ohio - The Kent State mens and womens track and field teams kicked off the outdoor season at the Shamrock Invitational in Conway, South Carolina today, March 19. The women recorded two NCAA regional marks, while the men registered one in both teams' annual spring break trip.
In his first outdoor competition as a Golden Flash, Jaroslaw Zakrzewski (Fr., Gdansk, Poland) won the hammer throw with a NCAA regional-qualifying mark of 194-8. Brent Shelby (Jr., Westlake, Ohio/Westlake) claimed the shot put with a mark of 52-10.75, while Tom Densevich (Sr., Austintown, Ohio/Fitch) placed second (49-5.75) and Zakrzewski took third (48-7.50). Shelby also finished second in the discus (161-9).
Jake Haughn (So., Edison, Ohio/Mt. Gilead) was the only victorious KSU athlete on the track for the men, winning the 5000 meters (15:16.42).
The women were led by the foursome of Julie Ward (Sr., Washington, Pa./McGuffey), Breann Smith (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), Donielle Swany (Sr., Liberty Center, Ohio/Liberty Center) and LeVania Henderson (Fr., Westland, Mich./Livonia Churchill). Competing for the first time since the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Ward won the javelin with a NCAA regional-qualifying mark of 149-9. Smith, fresh off a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships, placed second in the discus with a NCAA regional-qualifying toss of 159-8. Swany took third in the hammer throw with a distance of 164-8, while Henderson placed third in the shot put (42-7.50).
Both teams return to action next weekend (March 25-26) at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
